Tuesday, June 7, 2011

After considerable thought, here is my reply to the comments posted at "A criticism up for discussion."

As of this morning, there are an amazing 91 comments at my invitation for criticism last Friday. Before I begin, I would like to thank each and every one of you who commented, especially the ones who were harshest on me. All of you, for the most part, care deeply about the subject and that alone is humbling. What I write is important to some people. No writer can ask any more than that.

Let us begin with Warrior Class' initial indictment:

As bad as this scandal is, it has taken over your blog. You used to inspire us, but you have lost your balance over this rather minor trip of tyranny that is but a blip in the over-all loss of our freedom.

Our country is sinking fast and we need to be reminded where of we came. The American revolution was started because the Brits tried to take our weapons. The Texas revolution started for the very same reason.

It matters not what is their pretext or rational, war has been declared on the America we once knew and the government is arming our enemies.

You can push this if you want, but the bigger issue is gathering the people behind us. I think you have now lost them.

Remind them who they are, where they came from and where they can go, if they will gird up their loins and take back their country.


If I may mention it, there is this immutable truth: Although some folks thank Gaia for it, there is only one of me. I know of no process to clone me or to put more hours in the day. I do what I can with what time and effort I can muster, day in and day out. Because of my health and chronic penury, that time and effort is not perhaps what some would like -- it is not what I would like -- but it just is. I must take time to visit the doctors and those doctors require co-pays. This more than anything else is the central fact of my existence these past several years. As both situations are of my own making, I do not complain nor do I seek excuse, but I hope you accept it as partial explanation of how my time is spent.

The heart of Warrior Class' indictment is that I am spending what time and effort remains to me after that on the wrong things. I suppose my principal disagreement with WC is his characterization of the Gunwalker Scandal as a "minor trip of tyranny that is but a blip in the over-all loss of our freedom."

This is both true and false. It is true in the grand sweep of history, but untrue when viewed from this instant in time. Indeed, the Gunwalker scandal has provided us with the first real possibility in my memory to strike a strategic blow at the plans of the enemies of the Founders' Republic.

There is much naysaying in comments -- I will not be uncharitable and call it defeatist whining as some do -- about how "Holder will never go to jail" or "this will make no difference" or "it will all be covered up." Some think that it has become an obsession that, like Captain Ahab and Moby Dick, will doom me. One long-time reader and friend put it this way:

Hang in there, Mike. Had I the coin I would gladly drive the 800 odd miles one way to shake your hand. Put what you want on the blog. I am just concerned that if Issa and Grassley both wimp out and nothing comes of all your hard work it will be devastating to you psychologically.


My reply was as follows:

From my perspective, Gunwalker is a mission to deal damage to the legitimacy, morale and organization of the enemies of the Founders' Republic. It is part of the larger war in which I enlisted in a long time ago. Even if it "fails" in terms of justice, it has already succeeded beyond my wildest imaginings in terms of damaging their legitimacy, morale and organization. An enemy on the defensive is not attacking, thus this buys time for the rest of us to prepare, train, organize for whatever comes. Don't worry about my psych status. I will stay in the fight.


So you see, it is not about whether or not the Gunwalker Scandal succeeds in putting Holder or anyone else in prison. Viewed as a political operation with military import, it has already succeeded. Admittedly we are beating the enemies of the Founders' Republic over the head with an instrument of their own invention and not our own. Like the execution of all sound military strategies we have seized the tactical mistakes of our opponents and made strategic gains with them.

To that end, we have made allies who do not share our beliefs much beyond the desire for truth and simple justice. They, too, now come to this blog, and I view that as a success as well. We are changing the preconceptions that they had about Constitutional militias. This is a goodness thing, in both the short and long terms.

In the middle of the comments pouring in, I asked a long-time friend what he thought. "You have to ask yourself two questions. First, are you making a difference? Are you succeeding in the mission you set out to accomplish?"

The answer to that, I told him, was an unqualified "yes" for the reasons set out in my email reply above.

"The second question is," he continued, "can anyone else do what you are doing at this time and place and do it as well?"

That answer to that question, I leave to you, gentle readers.

I will continue to try to do everything as best I can, but the Gunwalker scandal is a strategic opportunity for those who seek to block the enemies of liberty and to restore the Founders' Republic. I will not stop attacking on that front until the mission is over or I am dead.

Mike
III

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike, the NOBEL prize is in the neighborhood of ONE MILLION $$$. (Plus all that free publicity) That would cover a lot of co-pays. Don't know if the PULITZER prize has any bucks attached to it or not. If nothing else happens you deserve at least ONE ATTABOY.

hellferbreakfast said...

Hang in there, young man. Just like a hair in a biscuit. God bless, & hope your health improves. The importance of your labor is just beginning to bear fruit.

Pericles said...

many of our brothers are tactical thinkers, and this is useful in a firefight, but the strategic thinker is working out the way to win by avoiding the firefight and springing an ambush.

Gunwalker is becoming a well executed ambush. The great thing about an ambush is that the people in the kill zone don't get much of a chance to shoot back.

Anonymous said...

Mike;
THANK YOU for your time and efforts as much as you can devote to us readers. Your site motivated me and others. While I am supportive of your reaching out, it should and needs to continue. Unfortunately, you may have only scatched the apathy surface and may be too late in the spin of things to muster up a significant numbers from the sheeple ranks. You have your blog and we are doing RKBA battles with our Dems and Rinos here in NC. Everyone has a part in liberty, keeping it and getting it back from the progressive decline we have experienced since Lincoln, Wilson and others. While I can't help you but to read and contribute, you can't help us either. Too many fronts and too few troops. Thank you for your efforts to expose the ATF and the other info you take time to put out here. I and others do enjoy the reading, as it is very important in the overall scheme of things.
VETTOM III

Anonymous said...

Mike, I would concur that this story/scandal is worth every ounce of energy you put into it.

I have serious doubts that anyone will go to jail or even if Obama is tarnished after it is all said and done.

Regardless, it is important that the information is releases and we continue to push back.

So my vote here is: keep pushing!

KPN3%

Anonymous said...

Perhaps because of the nature and vibrancy of your writing, we who follow your blog have a tendancy to forget about your other issues and limited time. That being said.......make each round count no matter what the subject is.

hbbill

Pilgrims' Pride said...

The various psycho-emotional development models well document an unfortunate aspect of human nature: incomprehension.

Take Fischer and Torbert's six-step maturity model as a handy framework of typical (and useful) development stages*:

Stage, Name, Governing Frame, Focus of Awareness

1. Opportunist; needs, interests rule impulses; outside world, effects

2. Diplomats; expectations rule interests; socially expected behaviour

3. Technician; internal craft logic rules expectations; internal logic, thought

4. Achiever; system success in environment rules craft logics; interplay of plan, practice and effect

4b**. Individualist; mastery of trade craft "supertechnician"; eschews responsibility

5. Strategist; principle rules system; synthetic theory of system-environment development over time

6. Magician; process (interplay of principle/action) awareness rules principle; interplay of awareness, thought, action and outside world in Eternal Now

A common observation of individual reaction to others who are higher in personal development: One level higher is seen as genius; two or more levels higher is seen as insanity or madness.

Let's be frank for a moment. Most "conservatives" are Diplomats or Technicians, with a smattering of materially successful Achievers.

One might expect this of a normally distributed, otherwise homogeneous population such as historical America.

We have few Strategists, thanks to the natural scarcity of excellent intellects.

We have few Opportunists because of the lingering benefits of Yankee/Puritan morality that actively oppressed such individuals.

We have almost no Magicians (Jesus would be considered such by the terms of their original paper) because they only come around every once in a great while -- and the ground must be prepared and "seeded" or their message is wasted, exactly as we read time and again in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles.

In other words, "good honest hard-working people" -- the vast bulk of the American population -- are simply incapable of thinking into the future beyond the lower levels of personal existence. This is not a moral condemnation, quite the opposite. It points to the extreme need of moral leadership with a strong paternal and tribal interest in the well-being and success of his people.

So, ultimately, let the masses snipe at you Mike. You're somewhere up there in Strategist territory and you are doomed to be misunderstood and hated for it.

Nothing for which to fret. Read Jesus and even Aristotle for appropriate pep-talks on this subject.

In the meantime, please keep doing the Lord's work as you are meant to do.

* "Personal and Organizational Transformations" (1995) Chapter 5

** Not one of Fischer and Torbert's categories but a useful overlay to explain the political madness we see in Washington.

Anonymous said...

"The second question is," he continued, "can anyone else do what you are doing at this time and place and do it as well?"

Oh, Hell no! :^)

MALTHUS

Bezzle said...

Regards "Constitutional militias" -- any among who believe a scrap of paper containing the first ten words of Article 1, Section 8 is something worth defending are completely out of your minds.

Anonymous said...

You're somewhere up there in Strategist territory and you are doomed to be misunderstood and hated for it.--Pilgrim's Pride

Or to borrow a quote: To be great is to be misunderstood.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ulitimately, we are judged and rewarded by God, not man. Keep fightin' the fight, Mike.

MALTHUS

Slobyskysa Rotchikokov said...

As my dear father said - to roughly translate from the Russian - "Endeavor to hang in there, like an athletic supporter full of rusty fishhooks." It is more poetical i the original.
Seriously - I expect the media's attention to next be diverted by 'leaked' photos of Mooshell's Tweeting photos of her penis in her boxer shorts, to Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah.

Col Bat Guano said...

Dutchman,

While I am a new and admittedly irregular reader (somebody has to make some money heir ins Ze Peeples Republik Von Cullyforjna), I'm thrilled to have been directed to your site. Being a Civil War amatuer historian, i recognize the level of discord and irreconcilable disagreement that existed in 1860's America to be quite similar to today between the ruling class and the ruled. The overarching federal authority Lincoln unwittingly unleashed in his desperation to preserve the union has reached a critical stage where it will trample his desire for an enduring nation of the people, for the people, and by the people. Either that or it will be cut down to size by the people it purports to rule. I pray for the latter and fear the former. To that prayer, you are doing your part.

You can do everything generally well or one thing as a recognized expert. Keep being the expert I've determined you to be.

Dave said...

I think you've succeded in one other important area as well - you've reminded us that one man (actually about three, including the original whistle-blower, yourself, and Codrea) can still make a difference. That alone is inspirational.

GardenSERF said...

You've already posted WHY this is important on your sidebar:

"The Gunwalker Scandal Made Simple"

Keep up the good work.

W W Woodward said...

If a fight’s not worth winning, don’t participate. If the fight is worth winning get in it and stay in it until you win or can’t get up. This one’s worth winning. If nothing else, we owe it to the folks who’ve died as a result of the Gunwalker scheme, to both the known and the uncounted nameless.
[W3]

Bill (Bad Cyborg) Mullins said...

PP, what the FRACK are you talking about? The Fischer and Torbert reference is to STAGES of maturity? So a 4b is MORE Mature than a 3? And what the HELL is this bravo sierra the vast bulk of the American population -- are simply incapable of thinking into the future beyond the lower levels of personal existence.??? What is this "lower levels of personal existence" that we poor, uncomprehending "simple folk" are incapable of thinking beyond? Where do YOU fall on the scale, o sage of sages? I myself fall in the 75th percentile of Mensa. None of those describe me well at all. I can plan for the long haul, look at things on a tactical level and prepare for something most do not yet see on the horizon.

BTW, I am the one who sent Mike that caring note. I have seen people get so emotionally invested in something that when it didn't turn out as they wanted/expected it hit them like a 4x4 upside the head. I happen to care too much for the Dutchman to wish that for him.

And for the record, I have been looking for the world as we know it to end - i.e. 2nd American Revolution and subsequent fall of western civilization - for going on 7 years. My dear wife has been putting up with my "obsession" for all that time. It is only in the last few months that she has come to the conclusion that I was right all along. Does that in any way qualify as "incomprehension"??

Bad Cyborg X
In my experience, acquiring multiple advanced degrees is as likely to produce a sophomore (wise fool) as a sage.

1Lt. Taylor Holmes, ret. said...

Looks like the votes are in... as if they had any way to confirm or condemn your adherence to the effort. But it must be nice to hear the support.

Equally loud to me, though, is the silence of the other side of the discussion. Might be taken as a silent nod to your determination, and that's speaks well of them and you.

There I go again, being nice and shit. Must be getting soft in my old age and retirement.

Kick some ass, Mike. Kick some ass.

Pilgrims' Pride said...

Dear Bad Cyborg,

I am very happy to learn of your personal capabilities. However, my note was not written to, for, or about you.

Now stand down.

Sincerely,
Pilgrims Pride

Jim Klein said...

"'Are you succeeding in the mission you set out to accomplish?'

"The answer to that, I told him, was an unqualified 'yes'"

End of Story. For an individual, there is nothing more...nor COULD there be.

There never was anything to discuss; I nearly went batty reading the first 57 comments. Now if only 1 million rational people--that's POINT 3 percent of the population--would be brave and strong enough to do what they set out to accomplish, there'd be a whole lot of doin' going on.

Maybe you'll get a prize or money; maybe you won't. But you've already gotten the most valuable thing a person can get, and it's there for the getting by anyone. Congratulations, Mike.

WarriorClass III said...

Considering all the responses my comment has generated, both here and over at WRSA, I was obviously wrong about Mike losing people with the constant attention to the Gun Walker scandal. And that was my primary concern. I believe that SSI is more important than any one scandal, and didn't want it to become a casualty in this one battle at the expense of the war.

There is also that nasty UN Treaty to take away our second amendment rights out there, and Obama is pushing that hard as well. Then there are those thugs in police uniforms that break into peoples homes, and murder them. TSA agents that feel up little kids, and, well, no shots fired in their defense either.

Perhaps the Gun Walker scandal will be the linch pin that pulls apart the tyranny and wakes the people up. I hope so, but if folks won't protect their little children from these thugs, I have to wonder whether they are asleep, or just dead.

The good news is that there are the living who read this blog. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

WarriorClass
III

Anonymous said...

A story heard several times before- I found this blog and was no longer alone. Especially in North Jersey(read NYC). I forget who linked me here, but it was definitely due to the gunwalker scandal. Now I am never leaving, and writing my officials regularly with this material.

When I went to vote yesterday, there was nobody there. My father had been #3 after the polls had been open for FOUR HOURS. I keep telling people about this interesting fiction piece I read about the "Coup of 2012". Nobody really cares.

24 years old. Son of a NJ State trooper and a nurse.

Keep yourself alive, Mike. Keep writing your leads, and we will follow in rhythm.

El Stegosaur
III