AESCHYLUS AND AMERICA
[Ereyesterday, July 20, was the 55th anniversary of humanity’s single greatest achievement. This Monday’s Archive was originally published on August 31, 2004, and is acutely relevant to today. This is a lengthy essay, which may be more easily read by clicking on the green Print button in the top right corner and printing a hard copy. It is a summation of my thoughts on America’s recent history and the choice America faces this November as it did twenty years ago.
It has the following sections: Aeschylus and Homer – Aeschylus and Neal Armstrong – Getting Drunk – Getting Sober – The Evil Eye – Terrorism As a Pathology of Envy – Liberalism As Fear of the Evil Eye – The Masochism of Liberals – The Pathology of Liberal Anti-Patriots – Aeschylus and America. Enjoy!]
TTP, August 31, 2004: Excerpt
Aeschylus and Neal Armstrong
On July 20, 1969, as I sat with a group of friends around a television in Honolulu, Hawaii, watching with awe a human being place his foot on the moon, I commented, "Neal Armstrong will be the most famous man of the 20th century." Obviously I turned out be very wrong.
America’s landing a man on the moon is the single greatest accomplishment in the history of the human race. It was an act of the purest Homeric fearless optimism. And yet after it, America — like Aeschylus and Ancient Athens –-- had a failure of nerve. Landing a man on the moon was epic heroism on a scale far beyond anything to which any other culture on earth could aspire.
It was a pinnacle that left the rest of the human race too far below. Landing a man on the moon, like the defeat of the Persians, was too unbelievably astonishing. It was a feat that placed Americans too far beyond the rest of humanity. The primordial anxiety that the gods would punish us for our succeeding too much caused us to give up. [And we have been giving up ever since, with the exception of Ronald Reagan, Bush after 9/11, and now, Donald Trump.]
LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON
You’ve seen a TTP Glimpse of the Tiger’s Nest, Taktsang Monastery in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Now’s your opportunity to experience it for real.
Bhutan is a country as close to the Shangri-La of James Hilton’s 1933 classic “Lost Horizon” as you’ll find on earth today. Smaller than West Virginia, hidden between Tibet and the crest of the Himalayas to the steamy jungles of India, Bhutan is known as the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Independent for centuries and never colonized, Bhutan is a magic place that is spectacularly unique.
Experiencing Bhutan is a true adventure. Quite frankly, Bhutan is as fabulously exotic as our world gets. At the same time, no other country is as serenely peaceful as Bhutan, no people more contented and cheerful as the Bhutanese, no land more welcoming and hospitable.
Bhutan’s culture is a unique mix of the ancient Himalayan animism called Bön and Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. The Bhutanese are renowned for being among the happiest people on our planet. They love to laugh, sing, dance, and play – and you’ll be invited to join them. Bhutanese happiness is infectious. One very good reason we TTPers will have a happy time of our lives on our Bhutan adventure this coming November. Read on for more info and cool photos.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – WASHINGTON POST, APRIL 16, 1986
This is the story on me in WaPo that chronicled my creation and implementation of The Reagan Doctrine and established my reputation in DC. The WaPo writer was very gracious and genuinely interested in my story. He told it straight and accurately quoted the people in the Reagan White House with whom I worked. I had no idea, though, that the story would be so large, spread across the front page of the Style section and continuing for another full page.
Unfortunately, you need get behind the WaPo paywall to read the entire article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/04/16/jack-wheelers-adventures-with-the-freedom-fighters/7869872b-a5db-4acf-9ed9-7bc14dac9e9e/. . (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #301, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
DESPERATE DEMOCRATS LIST JOB OPENING FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ON LINKEDIN
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As rumors about President Biden withdrawing from the presidential race continue to swirl around the nation, desperate Democrat leaders have recently resorted to listing a job opening for a new presidential candidate on LinkedIn.
According to the posting, the Democrats are looking for four things in a new candidate: ability to breathe, ability to form coherent sentences, a strong commitment to DEI and abortion, and a lack of being named "Kamala Harris."
"Yeah, things are getting a little tight around here, so we felt like we might as well go for the full-court press and use LinkedIn," said one Democrat staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I mean, it's not like we really have any other options, right? We're just hoping that this last resort works. Otherwise, we've just got nothing left."
Several Democrats have confirmed that the listing was inundated by applications, including several decent options like Jarack Bobama, Ramala Charis, Frammela Ferris, Garack Stomama, Handela Schmeris, and Camella Paris.
"We had to add a new requirement that all applicants would be completely prohibited from laughing, no exceptions," said the Democrat staffer. "Several of our interviewers passed away from the cackling."
At publishing time, Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer had been seen making LinkedIn accounts, though both still claimed to completely support Biden as candidate. Nancy Pelosi reportedly attempted to make an account but was unable to pass the reCaptcha.
- Babylon Bee reporting.
HALF-FULL REPORT 07/19/24
Easy to believe an Act of Providence saved his life for the sake of America, isn’t it? The slightest turn of the head at the very last fraction of a second was the difference between life and death by a few millimeters:
Glenn Beaton expressed the consequence many have noticed:
“(At) the Convention, Trump seemed different. He seemed more calm, more at peace. Fire no longer spews from his mouth. Rather, a radiance shines from his eyes. He’s becoming a leader. Not the “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!” type, although those were his words as his fists pounded the air when he rose from the stage floor last Saturday afternoon.
That was then, when he’d been cowardly ambushed by another messed-up product of our messed-up culture. Trump’s defiance and fight were the natural and right reaction. But bravado now is unnecessary and unhelpful. Now, he knows he’s been tasked with something big, and so do the people. Now, he and they know that he’s fully capable of performing this task. Now, he and they know his orange head has a purpose more noble than being exploded by a bullet, and more graceful than spouting inflammatory rhetoric.
His old opponents in the Republican Party have gathered round him. He has the endorsement of virtually all of them and many who are new to the Party – from Silicon Valley moguls, to one of the world’s richest men, to each of his vanquished rivals, to an ever-increasing share of Black America, to most Hispanic Americans. What they see is what I see: A quiet confidence, an unexpected patience, a deep resolve to complete – or at least resume – a task much bigger than he.
Trump is no longer a man, you see, but a movement. A mission. We’re witnessing something historic.”
Many of the RNC Convention speeches were inspiring and remarkable, but even more so was Trump’s last night – 92 minutes straight of dragon energy, eloquent and profoundly moving. Watch at your convenience the full video here, read the full transcript here.
But before we discuss where we go from here, there’s something I have to get off my chest.
POPEYE’S VILLAGE
Ever see the 1980 movie Popeye starring Robin Williams? It takes place in the seaside town of Sweethaven – and you’re looking at it. The film set was built in a cove on the northern end of the island of Malta in the Mediterranean just for the movie.
It’s now been transformed into a Disney-type fun park for kids and families. Not what you expect to find in an island famous for ancient temples older than the pyramids, massive medieval fortresses that were scenes of battles that saved Western Civilization, magnificently ornate Renaissance cathedrals, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking scenery. But here it is, with shows, rides, and play houses filled with children laughing and exploring. One more reason to love Malta. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #147 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 07/18/24
There’s no joy in Mudville, D.C. today. Judge Cannon has finally ruled Jack Smith’s appointment as unconstitutional, and the attempted assassination of President Trump has changed the narrative. We’ll look at the many and varied responses and reactions to that serious event, as well as some surprising new information about Covid origins and the refusal by the FDA to inform the public of vaccine side effects. Then there’s the unsurprising (to TTPers) results of DEI on our military, the inevitable pains of the Minsky Moment approaching, and other looming financial realities. Hold onto your hats!
Jack Smith (Trump Florida classified documents case) gets the Constitutional boot:
Judge Tosses Documents Case Against Trump; Jack Smith Appointment Unconstitutional
THE TEMPLE OF ULU WATU
Built 1,000 years ago on the edge of a cliff hundreds of feet above the sea on the island of Bali, the sacred temple of Ulu Watu is one of the holiest places of worship for the Balinese people. They have retained their unique form of Balinese Hinduism for millennia that incorporates their original animism, ancestor worship, and reverence for Buddhist saints or Bodhisattva. This has resulted in a spiritual warmth and gentle friendliness matched by few other places on earth. It is little wonder so many who come here consider Bali to be a worldly paradise. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #108 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE MYTH OF MARKET FAILURE
A prominent topic that economics students anywhere cannot avoid is market failure.
Students everywhere are taught that the free market is inherently unstable and causes problems that can only be fixed through legislation and regulation.
As a result, most of those who take an economics class come out of it believing that the state helps counter the shortcomings of the free market.
However, the concept of market failure is fallacious as it is based upon faulty economic reasoning.
Belief in market failure is often complementary with seeking to promote politically desirable goals rather than to promote economic growth.
First, a free market operates on freedom of association and property rights. Therefore, for any transaction or exchange to be conducted on a free market, it must be voluntary.
Further, if both parties agree on an exchange, then both parties must assume that the exchange is beneficial to themselves.
Whenever consumers buy a product, they value the product more than the money they pay for it. Similarly, the store sells them the product since it values the money earned more than the loss of the product that they sell to consumers.
It may be the case that one party is mistaken and ends up not preferring the exchange retroactively, but this is not a determining factor in the choice to transact.
Through this process, value is created through free markets. As people are free to interact and exchange, they make mutually beneficial trades that benefit both parties.
VON HANSON – UKRAINE WINTER WAR
In early World War II, on Nov. 30, 1939, a Soviet-Russian army invaded Finland in a surprise massive attack.
The Finns were eventually outnumbered nearly 3 to 1. The population of the Soviet Union in 1940 was 50 times larger than that of Finland.
Finland’s former anti-Soviet ally, Nazi Germany, had sold it out under the August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which made Germany and Russia de facto allies.
Finland’s other allies, particularly France and Britain, were slow in giving aid. Both were unsure whether Finland had any chance of survival.
And they were further confused as to whether their archenemy Germany was friendly or hostile to Finland.
Yet for nearly the next four months, the Finns fought ferociously. They were led brilliantly by their iconic general and commander-in-chief, Carl Mannerheim.
By March 1940, however, the brave but exhausted Finns were being slowly ground down.
Soon they were facing abject defeat—even after courageously inflicting nearly 500,000 Russian casualties, 10 times the number of their own dead, wounded, and missing.
Finnish ferocity shocked Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.