Post Thanksgiving Stress Syndrome (PTSS)

  
This weekend is chock full of emotion overload. Think about it. First is the day itself. Thanksgiving is representative of feelings of gratitude for all the gifts from God and for many, renewed associations with friends and family. A sense of reunion fills the air and good memories are often triggered. If that were not enough, we have the groaning board and more goodies than we can safely consume. The weather has not yet turned foul so our activities can be indoors, outdoors or both and not restricted. For many the day will close with sleepers on the couch and the TV blaring about the Broncos victory over NY. Others will ply the highways on their way home from Grandma’s.

In what has become almost an equivalent occasion (not to be confused with a holiday) the day following has been dubbed “Black Friday.” A classic struggle, with the home team being local and national retailers pitting their wit, ridiculous 5 am offers and buying power against divisions of shoppers armed with credit cards, shopping lists, and driving empty SUVs ready to be filled with booty from the stores. The prayer is always that the casualty count will be low. The result is the bellwether for the upcoming holiday sales total so vital to the bottom line.

Saturday then becomes the blessed “time-out” with some time to visit the turkey carcass in the refrigerator and also see if someone foolishly overlooked that last piece of pumpkin pie. With the spectacular bargains gobbled up by the dawn patrol shoppers, the lists are re-written and serious efforts made to find those difficult early gifts which must be shipped to far off relatives and friends. The dining room table, so recently covered with grand abundance of excess calories, has now been turned into a staging area for cards, stamps, envelopes, tape, and notes being readied for the mail man. The couch “riders” have turned to collegiate football to satisfy their gridiron fix for the day. The family dog remains stunned by the boon he has enjoyed from a continuing supply of left overs.

Sunday dawns as a welcome “day of rest.” Remaining visitors are invited to share in the morning religious activity before they have a snack and return to college, their homes, or their work release program. The keepers of the couch are now ready for the Sunday allowance of a dozen more NFL encounters. There is a sense of awareness that the work week is about to descend and the family dog is happy that no one will occupy his favorite sleeping place tonight.

Your long weekend was probably different in some ways but likely overlapped in some areas. Monday will be here soon enough and we can start the routine all over again. We can now dispense with “my how they’ve grown,” “are you feeling better now?” “did you hear about _______?” and “seriously, you are going back into re-hab?” We remain warmed by praise of the sweet potato pie, acknowledgment of how nice it is to be home, and remarks about what a good job you have done with the place. You may be torn over whether to enjoy the sudden peace and quiet or wish for the return of the pandemonium.

How you handle the next day or so will determine the overall affect that PTSS has had upon you. Chances are that if you are already getting ready, at least in the planning, for a repeat on the three day Christmas Holiday coming up, you have escaped unscathed. If not it is a safe bet that you are not now and never were ready for a family. Calling a therapist may be premature. Give it a few days, take a couple aspirin, and call then.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Words Matter

  

Sometimes I feel that I have come really late to the party. I happened on a link yesterday, spent hours reading and researching what I thought was news, Googled it today and found 4,900,000 reference sites with the same information. Granted, most of it was regurgitating the identical information but I was still taken aback that I had never heard of it. Oh, I had heard of it but I just hadn’t made the solid connections which the writers I read had made.

So what was this profound discovery which got my attention but turned out to be old news? It was Obama’s use of hypnotic techniques during campaign speeches and personal encounters to encourage subconscious action on the part of voters and others to gain his own personal objective of election to the presidency. During the process, I studied very carefully a 67 page pdf file which linked his behavior to that outlined by Erickson. It covered word formation, order, pace of delivery, body language, hand signals, and many other features of his pre-election presentations. The writer of this pdf although not the greatest presenter I have ever encountered managed to make an extremely good case. At the least, I renewed old interest which I had years ago in the field.

We have an inborn skepticism about hypnotists and claim that we are resistant to their most persistent attempts. We have mind pictures of sitting in a chair, and on command our heads lolls to the side and we settle into deep sleep. We rightfully fear the effect they might have but generally have little understanding of how the process works. We also don’t fully understand the complexity of our own minds which are the target for the hypnotist. As a review, I did some update on Dr. Erickson’s techniques and revisited many things I had learned long ago and forgotten. As I slogged through the pdf I was reminded of how I had used some of it in sales long ago. The principal lesson is that there is nothing metaphysical about the process. It does require a thorough understanding of the functioning of the human brain and an understanding of the language both in spoken word and body action.

I also came to the unpleasant conclusion that Obama is exceptionally well versed in both. As I reviewed his speeches, I found his delivery masterful in support of his objective. I also noted that he made no sense in much that he had to say. Oh. the usual platitudes came pouring out but they didn’t really seem properly connected. That was, until I was reminded of the Erickson method of hypnosis and suddenly it all fell together.

Here is the URL:  http://www.internet-grocer.net/hypnosis.pdf and if you choose, and have the time, and a computer, open the Adobe reader and update yourself on the inner workings of the brain. But, please, if you can’t read the whole thing and thoroughly acquaint yourself with the case being made, don’t start. If you are unwilling to devote the time to reading 67 pages with over 190 notes and links, you will come away with an incomplete picture. During this study you will find yourself weighing the affects of the words and contemplating outcomes. It is time consuming. What is worth learning; which is not? While not really all that technical, it will require study beyond a simple read. Keep in mind that you are studying an issue to which Dr. Erickson devoted much of his life.

If I hear from readers that they found this of interest and a threat to America, I will happily pursue it further. If not, I shall shelve it until such time as another election comes along and then demand that it gets the attention that it deserves. Obviously I hope that you find it interesting and threatening enough to merit your attention. As usual, it’s only the welfare of the nation which is at stake. It’s up to you.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

A Safe Bet

 
Here’s a hot tip for you for a safe bet. Check all the experts, economists, academics, business magazines and any others who should have a firm grip on financial markets and—bet against their predictions. You needn’t thank me for this sage advice; just send me a share of your resultant plunder.

Also, send a little to Monty Pelerin at American Thinker who posted this piece on the experts reaction to the events leading up to America’s worst depression ever. After you enjoy reading of formerly respected experts giving -180º advice on economics from the period, you will thoroughly understand. Eight decades hasn’t changed the arrogance of those who should know better.

“Experts - then and now - always get it wrong

Monty Pelerin

History is difficult to discern when you are living through it. The Great Depression provides an excellent example. That downturn was not considered abnormal for several years. Our current economic problems are subject to the same up-close myopia.

The "best and brightest" of the 1930s provide an embarrassing record. Here is some of the wisdom prior to the October 29, 1929 crash of the Dow:

We will not have any more crashes in our time. - John Maynard Keynes in 1927

Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. I do not feel there will be soon if ever be a 50 or 60 point break from present levels, such as (bears) have predicted. I expect to see the stock market a good deal higher within a few months. - Irving Fisher, Ph.D. Yale economist, Oct. 17, 1929

The October crash was painful, but most of the pain was yet to come. The stock market did not bottom until mid 1932. The eventual drop from the 1929 peak was almost 90%. Most of that loss occurred after 1929, yet the gurus of the period never saw what was coming:

There will be no repetition of the break of yesterday... I have no fear of another comparable decline.
- Arthur W. Loasby, President of the Equitable Trust Company

The Wall Street crash doesn't mean that there will be any general or serious business depression... Business has come home again, back to its job, providentially unscathed, sound in wind and limb, financially stronger than ever before. - Business Week, November 2, 1929

... a serious depression seems improbable; [we expect] recovery of business next spring, with further improvement in the fall. - Harvard Economic Society, November 10, 1929

The end of the decline of the Stock Market will probably not be long, only a few more days at most. - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics at Yale University, November 14, 1929

Financial storm definitely passed. - Bernard Baruch, cablegram to Winston Churchill, November 15, 1929

All downturns were known as depressions until after the Great Depression. So references to "depression" meant the same in that day as "recession" does in our day. Arguably the Great Depression did not end until around 1946. Yet no one seemed to have any idea of what was happening:

I am convinced that through these measures we have reestablished confidence. - Herbert Hoover, December 1929

[1930 will be] a splendid employment year. - U.S. Dept. of Labor, New Year's Forecast, December 1929

For the immediate future, at least, the outlook (stocks) is bright. - Irving Fisher, Yale economist, in early 1930

There is nothing in the situation to be disturbed about. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, Feb 1930

Gentleman, you have come sixty days too late. The depression is over. - Herbert Hoover, - June 1930

... the present depression has about spent its force... - Harvard Economic Society, Aug 30, 1930

Years from now a similar collection of quotes from our time will be collected. The names will be different, but the quotes are likely to be just as embarrassing. The likes of Greenspan, Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, Obama, Cramer, Krugman, etc. etc. will likely appear as fools in the future. Most have already qualified, but are still enhancing their "resumes."

When you hear terms like "green shoots," "bottomed out," "new bull market," "exit strategy," "V-shaped recovery," "market undervalued" and all the other nonsense, think twice before acting. Go back and review the above quotations. History may only rhyme, but erroneous optimism always repeats.

I intend to put up a more complete list of quotations from the Great Depression on my website in the next few days."

Monty Pelerin http://www.economicnoise.com/

Now you have all the information you need to make those bets. Just remember, all that is different today are the names. It ain’t over till it’s over.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Thanksgiving Reprise

  
This post is a reprint of one which first ran November 19, 2007.

The seasons have changed, the nights have cooled and the harvest moon is now history. This means the advent of America’s truly unique holiday—Thanksgiving. I say unique because, except for Canada’s watered down version, no other country gives much time to the ritual of Thanksgiving. It is strictly a New World occasion and I welcome it. It is an occasion to take time for reflection on Him who stimulates our gratitude.

As Christians, we have no difficulty figuring out the proper Recipient of our outpouring of thanks. God rightfully is the object of our prayers since He has been the provider of all which we have come to rely upon and enjoy. Unlike our ancestors, our bare survival is rarely mentioned in our prayers. Our offerings often make more reference to the groaning board at which we sit than appreciation of just keeping alive. Oh, certainly we acknowledge the welcome presence of far-flung relation and other visitors and in addition to thanks we pray for their safety in their travels to and from our homes. This is as it should be, since their visit is welcomed and we enjoy seeing the family unit complete. Don’t read any criticism of the holiday in these words even if I express the need to expand our inventory of constant gifts from our Creator.

We, as residents of the United States, are and have been the recipients of the greatest God given document in the world. It is by virtue of the U.S. Constitution and the resulting government system we can enjoy that which we treasure in our life. We tend to forget that France’s, Germany’s, Italy’s and Spain’s systems of government come nowhere close to equaling our constitution’s durability. In fact, their combined longevity comes nowhere near to ours. We often make the mistake of considering 1000 year old castles, towers, and bridges in foreign countries as indicators of their political stability. There is no relationship between these artifacts and successful government. Lacking this holy document, and its emphasis on human liberty, they cannot enjoy the nation state status of America.

Issues with a moral focus—drug control, abortion, gay relations, etc.—are ignored in an effort to remove the governing bodies further and further from the governed in ancestral Europe. There would have been no way for Eastern Europeto have suffered forty plus years of the Cold War if their system had been formed by God. Genocide, abuse, and deprivation of human rights are the product of governments not enjoying God’s guiding hand.

This great country is accused of every vile crime in the book but other nations manage to welcome our military to assist in disaster relief whether its source is nature or tin horn dictators. Foreign cemeteries are filled with liberty loving youth from our country who felt the call to liberate the oppressed. My only solace when I think of them is to realize they are now in the bosom of the Lord.

We are constantly reminded by the ACLU and other lunatics of the so called “separation of church and state.” Despite the fact it is nowhere mentioned in the constitution or other statute, they continue the fiction that separation of church and state actually exists. As we read the words of the founding fathers and subsequent leaders we discover a continuing dependence on Almighty God for direction and guidance. During the course of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln gave the following prayer to our Heavenly Father.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

***Abraham Lincoln

President Lincoln leaves little else to say. Enjoy the holiday. Enjoy the blessings of liberty. Praise our kind and loving God. Please pass the sweet potatoes.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Bulwer-Lytton Writing Contest

 
National Review has a stable of writers who keep me sane. Mixed in with criticism, outrage, and protest over the shenanigans of our government is a generous portion of humor. This was linked by Instapundit and is provided here for your amusement. Jonah Goldberg is one funny guy and also one of the sharpest pundits around. Enjoy!

“JONAH GOLDBERG:

Slate magazine is just one of the countless media outlets convulsing with St.Vitus’ Dance over that demonic succubus Sarah Palin. In its reader forum, The Fray, one supposed Palinophobe took dead aim at the former Alaska governor’s writing chops, excerpting the following sentence from her book:

'The apartment was small, with slanting floors and irregular heat and a buzzer downstairs that didn’t work, so that visitors had to call ahead from a pay phone at the corner gas station, where a black Doberman the size of a wolf paced through the night in vigilant patrol, its jaws clamped around an empty beer bottle.'

Other readers pounced like wolf-sized Dobermans on an intruder. One guffawed, 'That sentence by Sarah Palin could be entered into the annual Bulwer-Lytton bad writing contest. It could have a chance at winning a (sic) honorable mention, at any rate.'

But soon, the original contributor confessed: 'I probably should have mentioned that the sentence quoted above was not written by Sarah Palin. It’s taken from the first paragraph of ‘Dreams From My Father,’ written by Barack Obama.'

The ruse should have been allowed to fester longer, but the point was made nonetheless: Some people hate Palin first and ask questions later.

I don’t understand that, but then I never got the Bush-or Clinton-hatred either.”

Thanks Jonah. That should last me the rest of the day. In combination with Joe Lieberman’s intransigence on the public option, Obama’s drop to -15% on Rasmussen, and a continued rise in the numbers of those opposed to the current “leadership,” we may see a brighter day tomorrow.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 120

  
It’s been a busy week here in the Ozarks. The recently deceased tree in the front lawn has been removed in its entirety and all that remains is a fog of smoke from burning the stump. I found that Jan happens to really like the smell of wood smoke on her man. Who knew? We cut up the wood and give it to church friends whose primary heat is wood.

AGW

I have been listening to climate alarmists and green freaks for well over the last fifty years. I recognized early on that they used the cause to cloud another agenda with an insidious intent. It was, is, and always has been about control of our people and the destruction of US sovereignty. The very thought of turning any aspect of American life over to foreign bodies has been reprehensible. For good or ill, we have earned the right to determine our own destiny.

Eco-nuts and climate crazies simply use faux science to fulfill their own ends. Those ends are for the most part, political. Forty years ago the threat was portrayed as the “big freeze.” When that fell on deaf ears it was changed to global warming. With visions of rising oceans, increased deserts world-wide and insufferable temperatures on the immediate horizon, they manufactured “scientific evidence” to support their cause. They had done it previously with global cooling so they used the same template.

Now that global warming has proven a disappointment to furthering of the anti-sovereignty agenda, they have settled on just plain “climate change.” Back in the day we called this weather. You know the line, “if you don’t like the weather, wait a day or so and it will change.” It’s true!

Our family lived in Denver in 1969 and was returning from a visit to Washington, D.C. on the 2nd of September and encountered a full scale blizzard on the plains fifty miles east of Denver. We managed to plow through the litter of cars and trucks off the road in huge snow drifts and made it home safely. Once home, I spent the next day in shorts and a T-shirt cleaning up the mess, shoveling snow and enjoying the sunshine. Even the snow I shoveled was gone by supper time. Anyone who has lived in that area fully realizes that such weather anomalies are the norm. The weather there is capricious. However, each year since, when Labor Day comes I privately or publicly recall the events of 9/2/69 and bore someone with the story.

One isolated anecdote, even if it fits the narrative, is not the substance required for a dissertation on climate change. That is simply a tale to be re-told and enjoyed. What is required is sustained accurate recording of weather patterns, valid interpretations of data obtained from dependable sources, knowledge of extended history, and that most elusive information of all—an objective scientific view uncluttered with preconceived notions and prejudice. Ideally, science in any form requires integrity.

After all, we are taught to trust our professionals. The family doctor with his lengthy experience, education and wisdom has served us well. We seek the lawyer to help us negotiate the pitfalls of the legal system. Our accountant keeps us free of the clutches of the IRS and enables successful commerce. And in concert with many other experts we are able to develop trust and take proper actions to enhance our lives. We willingly take their advice because of their constant objectivity and knowledge acquired through experience and training.

It is a fact that capable and reliable scientists have questioned the “climate change” crowd for decades. Their protests of faulty science, corrupt data, and unverifiable statistics have been drowned in a sea of false claims and epithets which describe them as “flat earthers,” deniers, and other unsavory names. The fact that they number in the thousands makes no dent in the corrupt claims which have been made in the name of climate change. What makes such a difference in this community? Grants! Follow the money and find that there is endless financial support for the spurious claims of the climate change crowd. Not only is it difficult to prove a negative it is also unprofitable. In the final analysis, the major corrupter of data is money and ideology.

On November 19, we learned that the files of the pre-eminent climate research facility had been breached and in house information was made available to the public. “The institution is the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit, home institution for Dr Phil Jones and one of the world’s centers of research into anthropogenic global warming (AGW), or “climate change.”   Charlie Martin of Pajamas Media has the information complete with copious additional links to give you an overview on the seriousness of this development. Finally, we have the smoking gun to identify the purveyors of false information and agenda driven science. Please check it out and spend some time to see for yourself.

Amusing (?) Comments

I am enclosing a few comments to the article above and the last just sprang out of nowhere.

29. Charliemax:
It doesn’t require collusion on a huge scale. This has happened over a long period of time. Scientists created an industry to satisfy politicians. They insulated themselves in a bubble of false intellectual superiority, lauding themselves with honors, prizes, and especially research grants. They ridiculed every skeptic as “flat earthers” claiming sole ownership of science itself. This program will not be stopped easily or swiftly.. The climate itself puts the lie to AGW, yet still they will boldly restate it in Copenhagen. We have to hold onto the truth at all costs.

Tom Perkins:

@vivo

“What’s wrong with pure air, pure water, and clean energy?”

When how you want to get it will cause the early deaths of hundreds of millions and the relative impoverishment of the some 6 billion (and dropping) who are left–and the reasons given for it are fraudulent–even you should be able to figure out what’s wrong with it.

DAVE KOPEL EXPLAINS:

“President Obama Is Not A Jihadi. There is not a scintilla of evidence to suggest that our President is a jihadi.”

From the comments: “I think to be a jihadi you have to believe in something larger than yourself.”

And finally

It has been 41 days since the accident which put Jan (Granny with a Pitchfork) in a back brace and constant pain. She has gamely taken her pills, reduced her activity and endured her amateur caregiver in those activities which most of us take as routine and do ourselves. She has concluded that I am not the best cook but may indeed be trainable. We do not recommend a compression fracture as a means to secure enforced rest. We both thank you for your prayers and ask for your continuance.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon