3.06.2006
Victory at Sea
The days have been filled with large doses of wind, rain, and victory at sea. Sparse windows of wind-torn surf open to keep us stoked until better days arrive. Surfed the Steps last week and on Saturday, and stood on the cliff thinking about it on the days in between. I guess I could stoke up a little more and get my fix, but it's been sooo cold. Pussy. Oh well - got the blue fish tuned up with a new fin set that Dennis and Bert are lit up about - works way good. Changing fin sets on the quad-fish really allows a single board to perform like many different boards. It's proving to be way fun just experimenting with different fin sets. A friend at work was finding the same is true by changing the fins he uses on his thruster. Aluminum-core for light weight and high-performance foils change the feel of his board for the better. The lesson - play with your fins. There is a never ending stream of beltway antics to talk about, but I have been focused on the recent interpretations of our Constitution. I respect the document for its simplicity and power. It has served us well. But, these days there seems to be a never ending parade of righteous, god-fearing folk that want to read the 'tution sideways, upside down, and in the dark. On one of my nightly jaunts through TV land, I caught a Repugnantican from North Carolina explaining that the preamble to the 'tution highlights the need for a common defense of the country. This elected official was part of the Repugnantican "truth squad". Gee, I've quoted the preamble here and it wasn't apparent to me that common defense was the primary reason for establishing the federal government. Lets take a look. The first reason given in the preamble is "to form a more perfect Union", second is to "establish Justice", third is to "insure domestic Tranquility", fourth is "common defense", then follows promotion of general welfare and securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. There doesn't seem to be any weighting or ranking given to the reasons for a federal government. If you weight the reasons in order of appearance, then common defense ranks fourth. Otherwise, all reasons are equally important. But for the North Carolinian, "common defense" stood out. A couple of things come to mind. First, without the union, domestic tranquility, justice, and general welfare, there would be nothing to defend. Historically - the context of "common defense" had real meaning. The US was a new nation in a land of unending resources surrounded by the British, French, and Spanish empires. Land grab was all out. Today - the talk of "common defense" is hollow. The US is a Super Duper Power with enough Nucterence to destroy the globe several times over. Who's going to really dick with us. Instead, I see the Repugnantican view as a virtual land grab - where we defend our interests - usually on someone else's property - i.e. virtual land grab. We can't really take the land and its resources outright, but our corporations, military, and deal makers can own interest - virtual land grab for ourselves and our close friends (recently the British and Israelis). Enough. It's better to hang at the cliff and surf our minds when it's blown out.
Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws. -John Adams, 2nd US president (1735-1826)