Curtis Dahlgren
"Beware the Ides of March" (and union bullies)
By Curtis Dahlgren
"This is a Pearl Harbor moment for Wisconsin." — Democrat state senator (re Walker reforms)
The East bowed down before the blast,
In patient, deep disdain.
She let the legions thunder past,
And plunged in thought again.
— Arnold
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet
Til Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great judgment seat . . .
For frantic boast and foolish word -
Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord.
— Kipling
Great things are done when men and mountains meet;
This is not done by jostling in the street.
— Blake
Not in the clamour of the crowded street,
Nor in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,
But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.
-Longfellow
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves.
— Shakespeare
"THE IDES OF MARCH ARE COME." — Julius Caesar
"AY, CAESAR; BUT NOT GONE." — Soothsayer
This ain't "cowboy poetry," and you might say — at a time such as this — reciting poetry on a web site is a waste of time. Well, mayBE, but perhaps so is shooting hoops before 20,000. This is a backdoor way of saying that towns of 20,000 disappeared off the map in Japan, and the whole island moved 13 feet to the east, and I wonder how the amount of dollars bet on the NCAA tournament (billions?) will compare to the amount of charitable giving. How much will the cost of tickets and torney travel compare to the dollars given to "desperate housewives and families in northern Japan"?
Speaking of sports, the euphoria of the Super Bowl victory didn't last long in the Badger state, did it? The Pittsburgh Steelers were more gracious losers than the Democrat legislators and public school teachers in Madison.
And I used to have such great memories of the Wisconsin state capitol. My father used to sell apples and cider on the Square during his "retirement" (he sold his cows at age 64 and worked another 20 years growing produce). The first time I saw the capitol building was on a field trip in third or fourth grade. Some trips such as that had to be cancelled this year because some "social studies" teachers can't tell the difference between Adolf Hitler and Scottie Walker, Taxes Ranger. Speaking of history:
"If we could only learn all that is to be learned from history, we wouldn't be making the same mistakes over and over again." — "Bud" Selig
"The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves." — William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
You can tell which side the Unions are on, because the older teachers want — above all — the power to keep their seniority and tenure and perks even if all the younger teachers have to be laid off.
They are not even willing to give up a single phony "sick day"to help a younger union member keep a job! This is the Jimmie Hoffa mentality. It's called Human Nature.
Like slave owners in 1857 who refused to take half-a-step backwards on the spread of slavery to Kansas, the unions look upon half-a-step down off their high horse as akin to martyrdom. Like the pro-abortion crowd that refuses to stand for anti-infanticide legislation: Even Barack Oboma in Illinois refused to defend babies born alive (because that might "look bad" for Planned Parenthood's overall agenda). One step back from the brink is an unthinkability to such people.
Governor Walker and Wisconsin is the "Kansas" of 2011.
P.S. This will be a shorter column than usual, and "sorry 'bout" the poetry, but I don't think it's a waste of time. With Japan up in smoke again, what's more important — NCAA players and a bouncing ball, or the priceless words of our ancestors? For my money, put me down betting on my Dead White English Brothers and their timeless classics.
[Even though our modern "social studies" teachers would call them DWEEBS.]
More to come, but "remember the Ides of March"!
© Curtis Dahlgren
March 16, 2011
"This is a Pearl Harbor moment for Wisconsin." — Democrat state senator (re Walker reforms)
The East bowed down before the blast,
In patient, deep disdain.
She let the legions thunder past,
And plunged in thought again.
— Arnold
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet
Til Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great judgment seat . . .
For frantic boast and foolish word -
Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord.
— Kipling
Great things are done when men and mountains meet;
This is not done by jostling in the street.
— Blake
Not in the clamour of the crowded street,
Nor in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,
But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.
-Longfellow
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves.
— Shakespeare
"THE IDES OF MARCH ARE COME." — Julius Caesar
"AY, CAESAR; BUT NOT GONE." — Soothsayer
This ain't "cowboy poetry," and you might say — at a time such as this — reciting poetry on a web site is a waste of time. Well, mayBE, but perhaps so is shooting hoops before 20,000. This is a backdoor way of saying that towns of 20,000 disappeared off the map in Japan, and the whole island moved 13 feet to the east, and I wonder how the amount of dollars bet on the NCAA tournament (billions?) will compare to the amount of charitable giving. How much will the cost of tickets and torney travel compare to the dollars given to "desperate housewives and families in northern Japan"?
Speaking of sports, the euphoria of the Super Bowl victory didn't last long in the Badger state, did it? The Pittsburgh Steelers were more gracious losers than the Democrat legislators and public school teachers in Madison.
And I used to have such great memories of the Wisconsin state capitol. My father used to sell apples and cider on the Square during his "retirement" (he sold his cows at age 64 and worked another 20 years growing produce). The first time I saw the capitol building was on a field trip in third or fourth grade. Some trips such as that had to be cancelled this year because some "social studies" teachers can't tell the difference between Adolf Hitler and Scottie Walker, Taxes Ranger. Speaking of history:
"If we could only learn all that is to be learned from history, we wouldn't be making the same mistakes over and over again." — "Bud" Selig
"The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves." — William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
You can tell which side the Unions are on, because the older teachers want — above all — the power to keep their seniority and tenure and perks even if all the younger teachers have to be laid off.
They are not even willing to give up a single phony "sick day"to help a younger union member keep a job! This is the Jimmie Hoffa mentality. It's called Human Nature.
Like slave owners in 1857 who refused to take half-a-step backwards on the spread of slavery to Kansas, the unions look upon half-a-step down off their high horse as akin to martyrdom. Like the pro-abortion crowd that refuses to stand for anti-infanticide legislation: Even Barack Oboma in Illinois refused to defend babies born alive (because that might "look bad" for Planned Parenthood's overall agenda). One step back from the brink is an unthinkability to such people.
Governor Walker and Wisconsin is the "Kansas" of 2011.
P.S. This will be a shorter column than usual, and "sorry 'bout" the poetry, but I don't think it's a waste of time. With Japan up in smoke again, what's more important — NCAA players and a bouncing ball, or the priceless words of our ancestors? For my money, put me down betting on my Dead White English Brothers and their timeless classics.
[Even though our modern "social studies" teachers would call them DWEEBS.]
More to come, but "remember the Ides of March"!
© Curtis Dahlgren
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