Earworm

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Earworm

I recently got a Netflix account, and my wife and I have been watching the Sharpe’s Rifles series. We’re now up to #8, Sharpe’s Sword. Pretty good series, I recommend it. It gives you at least some idea of the culture of Georgian England, and the differences in class that were carried through to their military.

One of the characters, Hagland Hagman (thanks, Chris), is British actor and folk singer John Tams. He was chosen as much for his voice as for his acting ability. Remember, no iPods back then. Somebody sang and played an instrument, or you did without music. The song that’s stuck in my head, though is a very old one, and the song they end each episode with, Over the Hills and Far Away. John Tams added stanzas for some of the episodes. I’ve even gone so far as to copy down the damned song.

Over the Hills and Far Away – John Tams & Dominic Muldowney

Here’s forty shillings on the drum
To those who’ll volunteer to come,
To ‘list and fight the foe today
Over the Hills and far away.

O’er the hills and o’er the main
Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain.
King George commands and we obey
Over the hills to far away.

Mid smoke and fire, shot and shell,
And to the very walls of hell,
But we shall stand and we shall stay
Over the hills and far away.

(Chorus)

Though I may travel far from Spain
A part of me shall still remain,
For you are with me night and day
And over the hills and far away.

(Chorus)

When Evil stalks upon the land
I’ll neither hold nor stay me hand
But fight to win a better day,
Over the hills and far away.

(Chorus)

Let kings and tyrants come and go,
I’ll stand adjudged by what I know.
A soldiers life I’ll ne’er gainsay.
Over the hills and far away.

(Chorus)

If I should fall to rise no more,
As many comrades did before,
Ask the pipes and drums to play
Over the hills and far away.

(Chorus)

Then fall in lads behind the drum
With colours blazing like the sun.
Along the road to come-what-may
Over the hills and far away.

O’er the hills and o’er the main
Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain.
King George commands and we obey
Over the hills and far away.

Here’s a video compilation done by someone even worse off than me:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16D8ZSXeVXw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&w=480&h=385]
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the closest thing most Brits AND most Americans get to any knowledge about the Napoleonic wars. It certainly is for me.

Is it Time?

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Is it Time?

I’ve seen this comment, or one very much like it, several places around the Web:

Only one solution… if the bastards have no money, they can not steal it. Tax revolt 2010. Don’t send the IRS anything. Pass it on.

This is what Billy Beck has been advocating for as long as I’ve been reading him. It’s actually a pretty good idea, but it depends on significant buy-in by the tax-paying population – enough that imprisoning us becomes a significant problem, and confiscating our property must be made as difficult as possible. Onesy-twoseys like Wesley Snipes are easy “example” targets. Flood the system with these cases, and that’s a problem of a different order.

So now we have unemployment at about 10%. Is ten percent of the population enough? Would it take twenty? Twenty-five? And what exactly happens when the .govs – Federal, state and local – can’t fund their daily operations, much less their pyramid schemes? “Starve the beast” is the challenge, but we all have a pretty good idea of what a starving beast can do.

I’ve said previously that one thing that struck me on my first reading of Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was that after the plotters decided to revolt against the Lunar Authority, the first thing they did was go about making the lives of their fellow citizens worse, and antagonizing that government to be the agent of that worsening. It was necessary in order to motivate the majority of the population to stand up and say “ENOUGH!”

A tax-revolt won’t do that. It’ll be people “not paying their fair share” etc, etc. But would it be possible for people to just drop off the IRS radar entirely? No principled stand, middle finger held high, just walk away. How would they go about doing that? CAN a significant chunk of the contributors to this society “go Galt”? What would be the actual result?

Yes, That’s It Exactly

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Yes, That’s It Exactly

These details are obnoxious not merely in and of themselves but because they tell us the truth about where we’re headed: Think of the way almost every Big Government project bursts its bodice and winds up bigger and more bloated than its creators allegedly foresaw. In this instance, the stays come pre-loosened, and studded with loopholes. Because the Democrat operators — the Nancy Pelosis and Barney Franks — know that what matters is to get something, anything across the river, and then burn the bridge behind you. — Mark Steyn, National Review Online: Cross the River, Burn the Bridge Behind You

As always with Steyn, read the whole thing.

Merry Christmas

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Another from digitalblasphemy.com

Edited to add:

A Christmas Poem for All Americans

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!”
“Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light,
Then he sighed and he said, “It’s really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.”

“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam,
And now it’s my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white and blue. . . an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
who stand at the front against any and all,
to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

Michael Marks
December 7, 2000

Quote of the Day

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Quote of the Day

Notwithstanding the previous entry, here’s today’s QotD:

Our entire political system is based on a system of payoffs. When the Republicans have the control, the payoffs are under the table, and go to men of wealth to buy their allegiance. When the Democrats have control, the payoffs are out in the open, go towards increasing the size and power of government, and buying the allegiance of the underclass.

As far as my 66 years has taken me, that’s the only difference I can divine between the application of the two political philosophies in our time.

BTW, people, there is not one word of this system in the writings of our forefathers who made the rules we supposedly live by.

— Rivrdog, Kernel O’Truth

As always, RTWT.

Ennui

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Ennui

I don’t know if it’s the holidays or being unemployed or a combination of both, or something else entirely, but I haven’t got the urge to blog. I still have an Überpost marinating, but I can’t work up the enthusiasm to plunge into it and finish. Anyway, Christmas is just a couple of days away, and I don’t see this lifting for a bit, so don’t expect to see much from me for the next several days.

Thanks for dropping by.

Quote of the Day – Repeating History Division

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I am not a historian or a statistician. Nonetheless I had been skimming Climate Audit for a couple of years and knew enough to write, in January 2009, “Michael Mann should be in prison.” I continue to enthusiastically endorse this view. I also do know a bit about the past.

And the past has sent me its report on Climategate. It is a short message – quite pithy – full of punch. I transcribed it this week from my favorite Ouija board. At the planchette: me and my 2-year-old daughter, Sibyl.

After data corrections, the text reads:

Your entire system of government is incurably insane.

— Unqualified Reservations – Climategate: history’s message

I am reminded by this of The Geek with a .45‘s observation upon deciding to get the hell out of Dodge New Jersey,

“Entire Societies Can and Have Gone Stark Raving Batshit Fucking Insane.”

For some, it was brief and temporary, and for others, it was more or less a permanent state of affairs.

His quote was in the context of WWII, but he expanded it to the current government (and accepting populace) of New Jersey. And it’s gone beyond just New Jersey and California.

Mencius Moldbug’s post is unquestionably of Überpost status, but do give it a thorough read. (Edited to add: I think Climategate: history’s message is the best post I’ve read in years. It’s epic-length, but worth your time.) And re-peruse the Geek’s piece.

And think.

“A Monstrosity” is Right

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“A Monstrosity” is Right

“This bill is a monstrosity,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “This is not renaming the post office. Make no mistake — this bill will reshape our nation and our lives.” – WaPo, Deal on health bill is reached

And who didn’t see this coming?

Unless the GOP yields, the bill is expected to pass in a final Senate vote at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Negotiations to merge the bill with the House version would begin early next month.

So it’s still not – quite – a done deal, but it might as well be. They are going to shove this power-grab down our throats.

Many liberals, however, were bitterly disappointed with the bargains Reid struck to win support from moderates in his caucus, any member of which could seek alterations in exchange for his or her support. Democratic leaders dropped a government insurance option and the idea of expanding Medicare to younger Americans. Reid also omitted language that would have eliminated the federal antitrust exemption for health insurers — another nonstarter for Nelson.

Like this is going to be the final version of the bill, and it will never, ever be modified by lawmakers in the future?

Congressional budget analysts reported Saturday that the revised package would not worsen the nation’s fiscal situation, as GOP critics have warned. The analysts said the updated Senate bill would spend $871 billion over the next decade to extend coverage to more than 31 million Americans by dramatically expanding Medicaid, and by offering federal subsidies to those who lack affordable coverage through employers.

Those costs would be more than covered by nearly $400 billion in new taxes over the next decade and by nearly $500 billion in spending reductions, primarily cuts to Medicare, the federal health program for people 65 and older. All told, the package would reduce federal budget deficits by $132 billion by 2019, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Over the long term, the analysts predicted, the package could reduce budget deficits even more sharply, slicing as much as $1.3 trillion from projected deficits between 2019 and 2029. That would represent a significant improvement in long-run savings compared with the bill approved by the House and a measure previously crafted by Reid.

If you believe any of that, I have the title to this bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to talk to you about. “Spending reductions” on Medicare? On what planet? Oh no, there are powerful constituencies who are loath to see their particular ox gored. Cost-cutting and deficit reduction my aching ass.

And it will never, ever be repealed. Once seized, governments do not yield power easily.