Category Archives: Opinion

RULES for RADICALS by SAUL ALINSKY – PURPOSE

Posted on April 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Continuing with the chapter by chapter series on Rules for Radicals, today we add our Comments about the chapter called Purpose.  It’s the first chapter in the book immediately following the Prologue.

Synopsis of the chapter entitled Purpose
The first chapter is called Purpose.  It carries as a tagline this quote from the bible:

“The life of man upon earth is a warfare… Job 7:1”

There is a good reason to be optimistic although accomplishment of the goal is hopeless. If it’s hopeless, why do it?  It’s like a climber ascending a mountain whose summit is infinity and can never be reached. When asked why strive for the impossible, Mt. Everest climber Mallory said “Because it is there”.

This seems senseless until you read the very last line of the chapter –  “Happiness lies in the pursuit”. Fighting for the Revolution is the only thing that gives purpose to life.

In the second part of Purpose we learn that everyone falls into one of three groups, called the trinity of classes. The classes are defined as 1)the Haves, 2) the Have-Nots, and 3) the Have-Some-Want-Mores. As you might expect by now, all people in all the groups are miserable according to Saul Alinsky

The Haves
The Haves  “suffocate in their surplus” and cannot sleep because they “are living under the nightmare of possible threats to their possessions”.

The Have-Nots
The Have-Nots “are chained together by the common misery of poverty, rotten housing, disease, ignorance, political impotence and despair”.

The Have-Some-Want-Mores
The Have-Some-Want-Mores are psychologically disturbed “torn between [protecting] what they have, yet wanting change to get more”. They are “social and economic schizoids”. This group is Alinsky’s vision of the middle class

Commentary
Out of 15 versions of the Bible only one translates Job7:1 as Alinsky presents it and that is the Douay-Rheims Bible.  The more popular King James Bible translates the same verse as “Is there not an appointed time to man on earth?”  The New Living Version best typifies the other translations with “Is not all human life a struggle?”  In the D-R version from which Professor Alinsky draws his quote the warfare is metaphorical.  The unfortunate plague of sickness and other ill fated turns of events that life has thrust upon Job are expressed as a war of circumstances against the beleaguered man.  The warfare is not a purpose as Alinsky implies, it is an affliction.

The professor revels in the fight.  Like a platoon leader in a mercenary army, Alinsky is there for the fight and cares little for the cause. This is not a new phenomenon for activists of Left.  I recall a ”Free Mumia Jamal” demonstration where a reporter interviewed one of the protesters who had come with a group of students all the way from Berkeley, California to Philadelphia to participate.  The young woman had no idea what Mumia had done or why he was in jail.  She had not come to free Mumia, she had come to demonstrate.

Nor is successful transformation of government a heartfelt goal of the professor.  Success would end the fight and the fight is his purpose.

What is one to think of a man who divides all the world into a trinity of groups and asserts that all members of all three groups are miserable?  No allowance is made for any living person to be content.  Alinsky was a genius, make no mistake about that, but genius is not common sense.  Like a true idiot savant, his genius was very narrow.  It also was aided by a faulty moral compass as we shall see in the next chapter called Of Means and Ends.

The compulsion of the Left to divide people into classes is in evidence here.  Whereas the Right tends to see circumstances of people who are given equal opportunity, largely as a product of themselves, the Left does not believe equal opportunity exists.  No thought is given to the mobility of individuals from one economic class to the next.  The system is the problem and it’s the system that must be changed.  The radical’s solution is to bring up groups perceived as victims by bringing down other groups perceived to be oppressors.

I am inclined to say envy is in evidence also, but I am not so sure.  Certainly envy is a major factor with the professor’s followers but Alinsky himself seems content in his role.  If his acolytes won their kingdom, he would feel out of place in it.

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RANDOM OBSERVATIONS – 3/30/12

Posted on March 30, 2012 | 1 comment

A race baiting former Black Panther wears a hoodie on the floor of Congress in defiance of the rules of the House of Representatives.  He happened to be a Democratic Congressman.

Obama failed to respond in any form to any of three letters from parents of sons who were murdered in cold blood while visiting America.  It happens the victims were (1) British, (2) white and (3) their parents don’t vote in U.S. elections.  It also happens to be that the killer was black.

President Barack Obama’s budget proposal was rejected by the House.  It happens that not even one Democrat voted in favor of Barack Obama’s budget.

“IRS seeks 4,000 agents, $303 million for Obamacare.” says the headline in the Washington Examiner.  What is the IRS going to audit, pray tell?  Whether or not you smoke?

John Hinderaker, well known attorney and co-founder of the Power Line blog wonders how the federal government can “force you into a government-run health care system; force you to pay for your neighbor’s health care; make you contract with physicians and hospitals exclusively on terms dictated by the government; and, perhaps, make it a crime for you to procure health care for your family outside of the government’s system”.

These are just some random observations for just one day.

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MARCO RUBIO ENDORSES MITT ROMNEY – WHAT IT MEANS

Posted on March 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Rubio’s endorsement is the final blow ending any chance Santorum still had of securing the nomination.  Rubio is highly regarded by members of the Tea Party faction making his endorsement a very significant one.  In fact, Rubio would be the ideal choice for Vice Presidential running mate.

Imagine Rubio on the campaign trail – young, Spanish speaking, popular, experienced in government but not part of the Washington establishment, from the South to balance Romney’s northern Massachusetts handicap.  And Rubio has fire in his delivery that Romney does not.  But would he run if asked?

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THE TRAYON – ZIMMERMAN AFFAIR

Posted on March 27, 2012 | 1 comment

Al Sharpton rose to power on a lie.  When the Tawana Brawley case was revealed to be a trumped up incident that never happened, the career of a good prosecutor was already destroyed.  Sharpton has never acknowledged the falsehoods were the basis of that case.  He’s a phony and everyone with any sense of objectivity knows it.

Jessie Jackson is past his prime.  He is living comfortably on the proceeds of racial based corporate intimidation, surfacing occasionally to keep racism alive in support of the industry which has served him so well financially.

Barack Obama is the third well known black man to make a run for President on the Democratic ticket.  Obama is cut of different cloth.  He is for real and he is not out to profit financially from the racism industry.  But he encourages it by what he doesn’t say and occasionally by what he does say.  Sharpton and Jackson speak for Sharpton and Jackson, fair enough.  They are free to take sides but the President is not.

When a black man forced his way into a home in Boston, Obama sided with the black man immediately before he knew the facts.  If you remember that incident cost him a beer and an apology to the cop.  When the case against Black Panther intimidation at the polls was technically already won by default, Obama’s administration dropped the charges.  Obama has never exactly said he supports reparations, but he has never said he opposed them and has argued that some form of acknowledgement of crimes against blacks and American Indians should include deeds and not just words.  And we should not overlook Obama’s own words that he had found his life’s work as he lingered in the pew after listening to a sermon on the subject – It’s the white man’s need that runs a world in need.

When a Muslim who said non-believers should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats, later shot and killed thirteen people at Fort Hood, Obama rightly called for patience to learn the facts before making any judgment.  When an unarmed black boy is shot and killed by a Hispanic the need for patience to find the facts is no longer important.  The New Black Panthers put a bounty on a Hispanic man’s head as their leader shouts for a lynching with “If the government won’t do their job, we will!” and Obama signals acquiescence by his silence.

The Great Divider keeps his rage under control but time and again his bias comes to light. These are strong words but it’s time they be said.

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RULES for RADICALS by SAUL ALINSKY, FIRST IN A SERIES

Posted on March 26, 2012 | 1 comment

This Post begins a series on the book Rules for Radicals by Professor Saul Alinsky.  During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama proudly proclaimed his experience as a community organizer.  The professor is known as the Godfather of community organizing.  Hillary Clinton wrote her Wellesley College thesis on the life and work of Saul Alinsky.  Chris Matthews stated on his MSNBC Hardball program that Saul Alinsky is one of his heroes.  Who is this man Alinsky and what did he teach?  Let’s go to the book and find out.

Prologue
At the front of the book, even before the Prologue, Alinsky writes a brief tribute to Lucifer the devil.  Alinsky admires the devil, holding him in high regard because he succeeded in winning a kingdom for himself.

The author’s prologue is a litany of misery. In his view, the world is a thoroughly miserable place. The prologue is replete with phrases like these — “the outcome of hopelessness and despair is morbidity” and “there is a feeling of death overhanging the nation”.

Alinsky correctly cites Leftist radicals as completely rejecting the common “goals of a well paid job, suburban home, automobile … and everything else that means success” to others.

Young radicals are unhappy because they see only the faults in the world, and no purpose in life. They are in a constant search for themselves. The middle class and affluent are mired in the likes of divorce and disillusionment. The whole world is such a discouraging place that anyone who is happy in it must be blind.

Alinsky seldom speaks about changing America. He talks mostly about changing the World.  His vision of ubiquitous despondency transcends domestic locus.

Revolution with some violence is likely to be required in order to wrest the power of government from those now in control. But revolution must come at the end of the process, not at the beginning. A successful transition of government must be directed like a three act play –  first set the stage, then develop the plot, and finally conclude with the main event. The function and duty of a community organizer is to direct this process.

Act I is join the crowd, gain respect, acceptance and legitimacy.
Act II development, spread discontent, build support for Act III
Act III is the revolution itself, which of necessity will be violent.

Alinsky encourages radicals to fight but discourages those who are impatient and want to go directly to Act III.  Starting at the conclusion is ineffective and it will never bring success.

Commentary on the Prologue
There can be no doubt about the fact that we are dealing with a very morose individual.  Midway through the Prologue it would seem to be a great waste of time to read any further.  Just then he puts forth the analogy of the Three Act Play and suddenly begins to make sense.

Act I.  Join the crowd, gain respect, acceptance and legitimacy.  Of course!  We live in a democracy with a prosperous and sizable middle class.  Such a large segment of people are not going to surrender the fruits of their labor voluntarily.  The goal of complete transformation with redistribution of wealth must begin with stealth.

“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.”  A statement generally accredited to Norman Thomas, six time candidate for president on the Socialist Party ticket.

Obama completed Act I with his election.

Act II is development, spread discontent, build support for Act III.  Contented people do not cry for change.  Therefore discontent must be sown and spread across as wide a spectrum of the population as possible.  We see this today in class warfare by which Obama pits American against American.  The rich, the banks, the oil companies are all made out to be enemies of the people, every one, without exception.  Even riling up the Catholic Church has its advantages providing it does not cost Obama the election.  To solve that, the whole contraception issue is laid on the opposition.

Act II is where we are now.  Understanding what Act II is all about answers a lot of questions.  For one, harmony is not an objective, quite the opposite.  Later in the book, Alinsky tells the community organizer that the establishment will label him an agitator and they will be correct.  That is the job of a community organizer.  Act II is about fomenting unrest and building passion for change.  It is not possible to completely transform a democratic government when most of the people are content and united.

Act III is the revolution itself and Alinksy says violence is inevitable because both power and possessions will need to be wrested from those who have them and they will fight violently to keep it.  There is now general agreement among Socialist leaders today on Acts I and II but they are split on Act III.  Francis Scott Piven argues for the violent revolution option and the sooner the better.  The other school argues that attempts to overthrow the standing government by militant violence are destined to fail.  But with stealth and patience working within the democratic process America can be led to succumb into a socialist state at the ballot box.

Alinsky is basically in the non-militant camp but with the caveat that some violence will be unavoidable at the very end to complete the transformation.

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GE MAKES THE SWITCH – FROM OBAMA TO ROMNEY

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

General Electric president Jeffry Immelt has privately switched his support from Barack Obama to Mitt Romney.  According to Charles Gasperino writing for the New York Post, Immelt, a Republican, thought he could moderate Obama’s anti-business views but has become very disenchanted with the President. A GE spokesman said the idea is ludicrous.  Evidence would say otherwise.

In Immelt’s annual letter to stockholders he wrote:

“We live in a tough era in which the public discourse, in general, is negative . . . American companies, particularly big companies, are vilified,” when “we need to work together to find a better way.”

GE executives contributed more than 300% more to Obama than to McCain in the 2008 campaign.  This time around those GE executives have contributed twice as much to Romney than they have to Obama.

There are things about manufacturing that the guy on the production line knows better than the president of the company.  There are things a well informed voter knows about a presidential candidate that a man who shakes hands with him does not.  If Jeffrey Immelt is disappointed it’s because he was too busy managing GE to see what was obvious from the start to Joe the Plumber.

If Gasperino is correct, it bodes well for the 2012 election.  For if GE, of all companies, has had a change of heart, certainly others have as well.

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BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND – NOT

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Wind power is:

Unreliable
Economically unfeasible
Incapable of ever producing meaningful volume

In can only exist with government subsidies which means an entire industry is dependant on getting money from the government for their existence.  That is never a healthy thing.  Favoritism is the kindest word to describe what this inevitably leads to.  Need I say “Solyndra”?

A company that does not need to make a profit in its own right is not a healthy thing either.  If you have to make a profit, in a free-market society you have to produce a product or service that has value beyond its price or no one will buy it.  When no profit is required, that discipline is missing.  Your continued existence is dependent on your relationship with the federal government, not on the efficacy of your product.  There is no need to add value to society.

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KRUGMAN WATCH – WHAT AILS EUROPE?

Posted on February 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

We learn from Mr. Krugman that he, and only he has the answer.  There is the “Republican narrative and the German narrative. Neither story fits the facts.”

“The Republican story ….. is that Europe is in trouble because it has done too much to help the poor and unlucky,”  This is a classic mischaracterization of Republican and conservative positions.  Conservatives have just as much compassion for the truly poor and unlucky as anyone.  The objection is to the creation of dependency and an unsustainable welfare state that extends well beyond the poor and unlucky to include a majority of the populace.  The inimitable Denis Miller put it succinctly when he said “We just want some bona fides, that’s all”.

“[C]ountries that aren’t on the euro seem able to run large deficits and carry large debts countries that aren’t on the euro seem able to run large deficits and carry large debts without facing any crises. Britain and the United States can borrow long-term at interest rates of around 2 percent; Japan, which is far more deeply in debt than any country in Europe, Greece included, pays only 1 percent… Britain and the United States can borrow long-term at interest rates of around 2 percent; Japan, which is far more deeply in debt than any country in Europe, Greece included, pays only 1 percent.”

What’s that Paul,“without facing any crises”  There’s the rub.  What must it take to get Mr. K to see a pending crisis?  George Osborne holds the position of Chancellor of the UK, a position similar to that of our Treasurer.

The Government ‘has run out of money’ and cannot afford debt-fuelled tax cuts or extra spending, George Osborne has admitted. In a stark warning ahead of next month’s Budget, the Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy. Mr. Osborne made it clear that due to the parlous state of the public finances the best hope for economic growth was to encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers. “The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,” the Chancellor said.

As far as the U.S. is concerned we already know Krugman’s position is to keep increasing the level of spending until it gets us out of debt.  It’s my blog but I am a generous chap so I’ll give the famed economist the final word… which is –

“The next time you hear people invoking the European example …. here’s what you need to know: they have no idea what they’re talking about.”

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JUST WHEN YOU THINK OBAMA HAS HIT ETHICAL BOTTOM HE GOES LOWER STILL

Posted on February 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Imagine this –

Mitt Romney wins the nomination and promptly announces the establishment of a national community organizing machine called White Anglo-Saxons for Romney.  In the launch, Romney urges white people to show their loyalty to the white candidate because white people should support each other.  Preposterous!  Unimaginable!  But is it any more preposterous than Obama’s establishment of a national community organizing machine called “Afro-Americans for Obama” to urge black people to support his candidacy because he is black?

Obama’s television commercial is a clear message to black voters that it is their duty to be loyal to their race and vote for the black man who will balance the past injustices of the white man.  The message is – now it’s our turn.

Once again, the Great Divider seeks to divide us ever wider and use that division to further his own ends.  It is ironic that the descendants of the enslaved and the victims of discrimination are solidly supportive of the party that fought to its death for the ability to maintain slavery, and the same party that fought the hardest against the Civil Rights Act.

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MORE ON THE CATHOLIC FLAP

Posted on February 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

Professor Paul Rahe minces no words in writing More Than a Touch of Malice, an article you can read at Ricochet.  He adds his wisdom to the argument that, far from committing a gaffe, Obama’s riling of the Catholic Church was a deliberate and well thought out step taken to define and solidify his base.

In 2008, when he first ran for the Presidency, Barack Obama posed as a moderate most of the time.  This time, he is openly running as a radical. His aim is to win a mandate for the fundamental transformation of the United States that he promised in passing on the eve of his election four years ago and that he promised again when he called his administration The New Foundation.

In the process, he intends to reshape the Democratic coalition – to bring the old hypocrisy to an end, to eliminate those who stand in the way of the final consolidation of the administrative entitlements state, to drive out the faithful Catholics once and for all, to jettison the white working class, and to build a new American regime on a coalition of  highly educated upper-middle class whites, feminists, African-Americans, Hispanics, illegal immigrants, and those belonging to the public-sector unions. To Americans outside this coalition, he intends to show no mercy.

Saul Alinsky, author of Rules for Radicals, taught that transforming a nation with a prosperous middle class like the United States into a Marxist socialist society could only be accomplished if approached as a three act play:

Act I – join the crowd, gain respect, acceptance and legitimacy.

Act II – develop the theme, spread discontent, and build a following for Act III

Act III – the act of final transformation which Alinsky says will of necessity, be violent.

Act I is complete.  The Occupy movement opened Act II; there is ample discontent.  It only needs to be channeled, fanned and kept alive.  “Those damned Regressives, now they want to take away your sex life”.  That will do it.  That’s the Catholic flap.

Act III…, there will be no Act III; we will see to that in November.  But if there were, the curtain would open in January with an Inauguration Proclamation declaring, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, am the way, the truth and the light; there is no way out of this mess but by me”.  And America would be on the road to becoming a Marxist Socialist society.

Bob B

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