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W
e e k l y F
e a t u r e P a g e
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The contents of the “Weekly Feature” page are provided
to you for your entertainment, amusement, and perhaps information.
Here you may find articles of interest, pictures, historical information
on the Club, or whatever shuffles to the top of the pile on our
desk. The only defined characteristic of this space is that we
will make every effort to change/replace it around the middle of
each week. Thank you for visiting, and please stop by again. Click
on any photo to see it larger in a separate window. |
How it Looks from Here
Traditionally, this is the time
of the year when we get all the
status reports from those who are
charged with our oversight. You
know, the President gives the State
of the Union speech, the guv tells
us how the State is doing, and closer
to home, I’m sure most of
our wives would be able to give
a fairly objective report on our
personal progress as human beings.
Hell, they could probably even whip
out some pie-charts and graphs to
illustrate our recent “progress”.
But even with all of this pertinent
information at our disposal, I still
feel like there is a narrow gap
that could only filled by a truly
local review. Since all of these
other reports tend to view life
from the standpoint of a certain
domain, ie: State, National, etc.,
and most of my postings tend to
be centered from the illusive town
of Fergus, I guess we’ll just
call this exercise “The State
of the Corner” report.
Of course, as luck would have it,
Fergus is pretty much dormant during
this time of the year, so the report
will pretty much consist of how
the outside world looks from here.
Historically, the first real public
event of the season here is Groundhog’s
Day, which, over the years, has
ranged all the way from being a
joyous outing in the good years
to whiskey-fueled chaos in the bad
years. In 2011, the hopeless rodent
burrowed furiously, spending the
entire cache of his winter-stored
of energy, without ever breaking
through the surface of the snow
that held him captive. His time-honored
predictions were thus entered as
a no-show for this year.
Therefore, we are forced to look
beyond the provincial confines to
offer unsolicited opinions of the
world beyond. Frankly, given what
we see at first glance, our first
instinct would be to beat a hasty
retreat back into the rural seclusion
that Fergus offers, place our backs
to the wall, and make ready to defend
what we have left.
The world seems a chaotic place.
People marching in the streets,
from Cairo, to Tripoli, to Wisconsin,
etc, etc. Nobody’s happy.
The turmoil in the Middle East makes
the area even less stable at the
moment, as they progress from bad
government to no government at all.
The situation in Libya is nothing
less than volatile, with the potential
for enormous human suffering before
it ends. But even faced with that
specter, I cannot hide a growing
desire for isolationism. The problems,
both present and looming, that we
face in this Country should become
the growing target for the ever-dwindling
resources that we have left to deal
with them. I don’t give a
damn how many new I-Pads Steve Jobs
introduces, unless they each come
with a built-in “Reduce the
deficit” app. I don’t
think this country is struggling
because we don’t have enough
instant communication capability.
I think it is in trouble because
we have become so broadly dependent
on 3rd world and emerging countries
for everything that we use and consume.
We sold them our technology, then
our jobs, and now they are actively
buying our future, in the form of
all the debt that has been “outsourced”.
I think it is in trouble because
we have lost so much of our capability
to manufacture. I think it is in
trouble because too much of our
economic stability is subject to
the whims of the speculators in
the financial investment community.
I think it is in trouble because
too much of our salt-of-the earth
common sense background has been
sacrificed on the altar of “political
correctness”.
I think organized labor was a concept
born of human need and human rights,
but in some instances it may have
outgrown its natural place in the
food chain of the business world.
After all, if the corporate entity
they prevail over in some conflict
ceases to exist, who is served or
protected? In the public sector,
if they prevail over the government
in a conflict, who is the loser,
since the government is “we
the people”? Before you misinterpret
my leanings on this subject, I am
fully in favor of worker’s
right to organize, but believe that
both sides will ultimately have
to deal with the same set of realities
that impact the situation.
On a different note, at this writing,
the Supreme Court has just ruled
in favor of the church group that
thinks it is their right to demonstrate
at the funerals or burials of our
soldiers lost in battle. Here’s
one of those applications for that “common
sense” philosophy I referenced
earlier. Sometimes the “right” is
just wrong. The court of public
opinion would almost certainly rule
about 95% in the opposite direction.
The old guideline on the Free Speech
issue always gave the caveat that
you didn’t have the right
to yell “Fire!” in a
crowded theatre. I anticipate that
this issue will begin to be handled
in a more “local” manner.
I am unable to understand how anyone
would think this is a productive
or appropriate means to practice
their religion.
Since it is neither my nature, nor
in my best interest, to contemplate
serious issues at any greater length,
we’ll close by noting how
pleased we are that Charlie Sheen
is still the president of his own
fan club, doesn’t need any
help, and that he seems to be doing
well at this writing. |