"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. "
- C.S. Lewis.

I think I'm going to start my own organization, where only smokers are allowed. I don't have a clever name for it or anything. We will have several smoking oriented community service initiatives, aimed at informing the public of their right to smoke. One such plan would be to have members walk up to non-smokers on the street, who are clearly minding their own business, and inform the non-smoker of the dangers of second-hand smoke. Or maybe that by not smoking, they lose out on the opportunity to experience emphysema. Or something like that, you know, so that the non-smoker can experience the harassment that smokers commonly do.

Unfortunately, I waited to long to continue this story, so I don't remember the exact order of everything else we did. So I'll just continue with what I remember.

We went to Siracusa (Syracuse for those who don't know the Italian name). The first place we visited was the Cathedral of the Weeping Madonna. We walked through the park outside, and visited the stations of the cross, and the mysteries of the rosary. There were some trees in the park unlike anything I've seen before. They looked totally alien. Then we headed into the sanctuary itself. Now, for those who aren't........Catholic I guess, the church may seem like a monstrosity. It is enormous. It's steeple easily dominates the city skyline. It also has a much more modern design than typical cathedrals in Italy. Its enormous central sanctuary has seating for 3,000, and its circular shape is surrounded by chapels, dedicated to various saints and events important to the Catholic faith. To some people, this extravagence is a bit too much. And, I can partially understand that. A lot of money went into this cathedral that may have been better spent in soup kitchens. Personally, I was , as usual with the cathedrals of Europe, totally awestruck. At the same time, I felt a little uncomfortable visiting a cathedral as a tourist, and not because I was going to mass. Especially since mass was being said in some of the chapels. I did not venture into the crypt to visit the reliquary, where the relics of the Holy Mother's miracle are held. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, which is a big no-no in churches there.  I stayed around the periphery of the church, keeping an eye out for the nuns that patrol the place. On our way out, we stopped at the gift shop, which was kind of tacky. I know the money probably goes to pay administrative expenses and such, but it really reminded me of Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the Temple.

After we left the cathedral, we headed into Ortigia. This is the old city of Siracusa, and is built on an island. The buildings are, obviously, very old. I mean, St. Paul visited this city on his way to Rome, just to give you an idea of how old things are there. We walked along a promenade on the Mediterranean Sea, after the sun had set. It was beautiful. I had been there before, but being back, it felt like visiting an old, familar hang-out. We walked around the streets window-shopping for a while. We got a gelato (Italian Ice-cream, which is the best you'll ever taste) and decided that since we'd had desert, we'd better have some dinner. We stopped in at a pizzeria, where my wife's mom and her fiancé got to see real pizza being made (with the dough throwing and everything). As we were heading back to the car, we almost got to see one of the funniest things you can see in Italy. We heard some yelling, and saw someone throw an ashtray across the street at someone else. There was a lot of yelling before the first guy stormed off. The recipient of the ashtray looked at us, and realizing we were American said , "SO MAD!" with an Italian accent. Unfortunatly that was the end of it. In Italy, a closed fist is considered a deadly weapon. So slap fights are the common way to engage in fisticuffs. Don't get me wrong, all that practice makes them pretty good slappers, but still, it is funny as hell. I was disappointed that this didn't turn into a show. That was the end of our visit to Siracusa.

Supplying an army

            At a distance

            Drains the public coffers
            And impoverishes
            The common people

The Skillful Warrior

            Never conscripts troops

            A second time;

            Never transports provisions

            A third.
(This seems especially poignant now)

I have heard that in war

            Haste can be

            Folly;

            But have never seen

            Delay that was

            Wise

 

In War,

            Better Take

            A state

            Intact

            Than destroy it.

 

The lowest form of war is

            To attack

            Cities.

            Siege warfare

            Is a last resort.

Interesting that 2500 years ago Master Sun knew this, and yet today our leader is ignorant to these seemingly basic and anciet pieces of wisdom. Anyway, I definately recommend reading this book. It may seem dated, but if you look at it, most of it is applicable to every day life. The copy I have is very nice and has commentary as well (Penguin Classics). I'm sure a decent local library would have a copy, too.

If convicted, Doe faces up to 1½ years in prison, 2 years of extended supervision and $10,000 in fines.

Sheboygan Press
http://www.sheboygan-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/SHE0101/701090446/1062/SHEnews

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I had heard a couple years ago that it had become illegal to spank your child in this state, but had ignorantly hoped that it was something that had been done to pacify a small group of lobbyists. I never thought there would really be a time when the state would dictate the proper raising of someone's children. I mean come on, politicians can't be trusted to do their jobs right; how could they be allowed to decide what the right way to rear kids, even if they could all agree on such a plan?

And yet here it is, a man possibly facing jail time for spanking his daughter for being naughty. And with a bare hand, no less! He didn't even use a wooden spoon, or a belt, or even a yardstick! The other daughter says she could tell he was really mad because he had veins popping out from his arm. Well hell yeah he was angry! He was giving her a spanking, wasn't he?

I was spanked as a child, as were my siblings. Of course we didn't like it, and of course our parents were angry when they did it. Was it wrong? Of course not. We were being brats, and needed to be snapped back to reality. But, it appears the youth of today will be allowed to continue languishing in brat-land while their parents are left to plead, "Please stop hitting your sister.......please don't color on the walls...........please do your chores," until eventually it becomes, "Please stop stealing cars.......please stop dealing drugs.....etc.."

I am dead-set on raising my children in an environment where they will learn some kind of self-control and discipline. I am a product of my parents efforts to do the same, and if I may say so, I'm a pretty normal guy. But in this society, where busy-bodies go around getting into peoples' business and the moral fiber of the country is suffering for it, I just don't know if it's possible to do it here. Maybe it is, but there are plenty of places where society works for you, and not against.

Hooray for America! Where people are free to do as they please. Unfortunately, it also means that if you get enough suckers to agree with you, you can pass some damn stupid laws. I could probably go on ranting about how this society is devolving into some type of hedonistic mecca, where anything is ok as long as it makes you feel good, otherwise it's illegal.............but I'll save that for another time.

P.S.    I have learned since the writing of this entry that in this state it is illegal for anyone other than the parent of a child to spank the child. This includes daycare providers, babysitters and grandparents. Not quite as bad as denying parents the right, but what kind of discipline can be taught in a daycare where children have to be "reasoned with"?

Over the years, I've thought of some cool stuff I would do if I were disgustingly rich. Here are a few of them.

1. I would buy a private jet. I realize this isn't the most creative of ideas. But I love to travel, so let me get that out of the way right away.

2. I would buy a small fleet of trucks. Maybe those new International pickup trucks, or just Ford F-350s. I would also get a large enclosed trailer for each one. These would be loaded with bottled water, canned food, MREs, and other non-perishables. This would all be kept in a warehouse, staged and ready to be on the road within hours. I would have a team of like-minded volunteer drivers on call. In the event of a disaster such as Katrina or Rita, the whole thing we be headed to the affected areas immediately to provide support. Sure, I couldn't feed a city, but maybe a few neighborhoods.

3. I would buy a brand new school bus. Then, I would take it to a body shop and have them put a convertable top on it. Wouldn't that be sweet? I mean, have you ever seen a convertable bus?

4. I would get myself elected to public office, then offer myself bribes, and accept campaign contributions from myself.

5. I would open a bar in a city that does not allow smoking in public places. I would allow people to smoke in my bar, and offer to pay any fines imposed by the city. Stupid laws anyway. You can drink yourself to death, but don't smoke. I guess all the non-smokers want to be able to get cirrhosis of the liver without putting their lungs in jeopardy.

6. I would offer to buy a life for all those idiots who stand on street corners and hold protest signs. Then I would protest myself for sending troops to Iraq and contributing to the downfall of society. By the way, the end is near, so impeach Bush, and remember that it's a child not a choice, or that we need to protect women's rights - either way, make sure you have your signs ready. By the way, have you ever noticed that those pro-life protestors hold signs that say "It's a Child, Not a Choice", but also carry signs that say "Choose Life"? So, apparently it IS a choice. Watch as I poke holes in the arguments of the malcontents!

7. I would buy out some random company, then sell it off. Then I could pretend I was some high rolling corporate guy.