Now We Know Where He Truly Stands...

A lot of people are talking about President Obama's "You didn't build that" speech.  Many say the comment is being taken out of context.  I say if it is taken out of context, it's not by very much.  In this short speech, Mr. Obama has laid out his plan for America, and it isn't pretty!

Here is the entire speech:

"There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

"The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

"So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the G.I. Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together."

There it is in all it's glory.  He said it.  He means it.  He's not taking it back.  And it's completely, incredibly, stunningly, ridiculous that someone with these views could get elected President of the United States of America!  I know many of you may disagree with me - and somewhat agree with Obama now that you see the comment in full context.  I'll comment paragraph by paragraph to illustrate my point.


Paragraph One:

"There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there."

Nothing is preventing wealthy Americans from giving back if they so desire.  The have the means to do so.  They are not required to give more than they do already just because they have become successful!  Yes, Mr. Obama, there are a lot of smart people out there.  Some of them also have the initiative and the guts to take the risk - many risking all they have! homes, fortunes, time - to actually put their smart ideas in the public eye and see if they have what it takes to "strike it rich" in this country.  It doesn't just happen.  Just because you are born here doesn't mean you get an equal share in everyone's success!  It doesn't work that way.  You want to share in their success?  By a cell phone, drive on those roads (more on that later), get a computer and use the internet (more on that later, too).  Oh! And here's an idea - get one of those jobs that have been created by these risk takers!  See how they did it so you can learn to do it for yourself!  Yes, there are hard working and smart people out here.  But neither hard work nor being smart is a guarantee of success.  People have to like your "product" - whether that be your business or your work ethic or your talents - or some combination thereof.

Paragraph Two:

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet."

Yup, somebody gave me help alright.  But not until I worked, trained, educated myself, and displayed a talent that someone wanted!  It didn't just happen all by itself!  People just don't walk up to strangers and say, "You look like you could use some help.  I'm going to give you [money, education, etc.] so you can be successful" without first seeing some initiative, some talent, some sacrifice.  That's the way it works.  Sure, there were a few great teachers in my life.  That's what they truly wanted from life!  They are successful because they do what they love.  Is that someone giving me help or is it just someone doing their job well and me being lucky enough to land in their class?

Yes, someone helped create this unbelievable American system that we have that allows people to thrive.  But it's not because of you!  It's the very same capitalistic system that you hate so much that is  what made this country thrive.  The same system you are bad mouthing every day!  The same system you are trying to destroy!

"Somebody" invested in roads and bridges?  Yes,  you know who they were?  Businesses!  Roads and bridges aren't built unless there is a destination.  What creates those destinations?  Who pays the taxes for those roads and bridges?  It's all because of business!!  Good God, man!  It's as if you think that someone built the roads and then the business popped up.  Sure, some businesses piggy back on the success of others and it may appear that the roads caused business activity.  But I guarantee that the road was built because there was some place to go first.

Finally, the internet.  Yes, government research created the internet, but not because it wanted businesses to use it.  It was built so that research departments from colleges and universities all over the county could communicate.  It was paid for with tax dollars from ... who?  Businesses and the people that work for them!  If it weren't for a capitalistic society and individual ingenuity, the internet would still be nothing more than a simple electronic file service.

Paragraph Three:

"The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires."

Yes, that's true.  We do succeed because of our individual initiative and because we do things together.  But not because we have to do things together.  Which is what you are trying to force us into.  We do things together because it benefits us when we do.  You buy a shovel because you need to dig a hole, somebody has to sell the shovel to you, somebody has to produce the shovel, somebody has to deliver the shovel to the retailer.  Oh, one more thing, you have to have the money to buy the shovel!  You don't get a hole just because you want one - get a job, create a job, find a way to make money or trade your talents for a shovel.  That's the way it works.  That's the way it always has worked.

Oh, and the fire fighting thing.  Cities and counties do have their own fire service.  And they are highly organized at fighting fires.  Even when different cities and counties combine to help each other fight large fires!  Do you really think that some Federal government entity is responsible for this?  Even if individuals had their own service, someone would step up and help organize it.  It's amazing, but we don't need the government to scratch our ass when it itches!

Paragraph Four:

"So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the G.I. Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together."

I'm sorry, what?  The government created the middle class? 

Yeah, we're not on our own.  We have a government that increasingly spends more than it takes in, wants more and more of our tax dollars, and will do anything to keep from changing it's behavior and becoming responsible for its actions.  Well, we are sick and tired of it.  We are responsible and we can't afford you or your wrongheaded ideas.

President Obama and people like him have a very different vision for America than most of us.  He wants to punish success by placing limits on it and then taking the "excess" and using it as he sees fit.  Limiting success?  I wonder how much effort Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would've put into their businesses if there were limits on the amount of success for them or their companies.  How far would they have gone before they just stopped trying.

People like Obama would rather destroy this country than to see people succeed while others do not.  Well, guess what?  This is America and in real life everyone doesn't get a trophy just because they live here.  You want a trophy?  It's there, waiting for you.  Go get it...

A Letter to the U.S. Dept of Education

I was having such a nice day, too.  After a very good run with Sapta this morning, I was feeling very relaxed; ready to take on the day.  Like every other day, one of my first tasks is catching up on emails received over night.  I got a real gem from the Department of Education this morning.  I've edited some parts out because they're just plain boring, but here is the message:

Dear Parent of CARL,

Recently your information was provided in the parental section of your student's 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  The information you provided indicated that you were going to file your taxes and were providing estimated 2011 tax information.  Now that the federal tax filing deadline has passed and you have probably filed your 2011 tax returns, it is time for you to update your student's FAFSA.

Updated information can be provided once your student accesses their FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov.  You should change your answer on the FAFSA (question 79) to reflect that you have "already completed" your tax return.  Once you've made this change, you will need to update the information you initially reported on the FAFSA to reflect the actual information from the 2011 tax return you filed. ...

... you are required to update the income information so that it reflects the information on the 2011 tax return you filed.  The tax-related questions you should review on your student's FAFSA include adjusted gross income, income tax paid, number of exemptions, and income earned from work.  You should also ensure that your FAFSA correctly identifies the type of tax return that was filed (IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, foreign tax return, etc.) and that you have entered the correct amounts for Additional Financial Information (questions 91a-f) and Other Untaxed Income (questions 92a-i).

It is important that you make the necessary changes to the tax information so that your student's FAFSA includes the same information that was included on your tax return.  However, when making corrections based on your completed federal tax returns, do not update other information that was correct at the time you filed your FAFSA.  For example, do not change your answer for household size (question 72) or for number in college (question 73); unless your answer was incorrect as of the date you originally signed the FAFSA.

Keep in mind that if the FAFSA also contains estimated tax information for your student, that information should also be updated to reflect the actual information from the 2011 tax return your student filed. ... Your student's ability to receive federal student aid can be impacted if you do not make the necessary updates or corrections.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.  If you have additional questions regarding the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, online help is available.  Visit www.fafsa.gov and click the "Browse Help" feature on the FAFSA home page for information on the tool and the FAFSA process.

U.S. Department of Education

Federal Student Aid

 OK!  Now I'm just angry - again!  I was angry that I had to provide all this information on the application in the first place.  It's just wrong.  So - since I could not reply to the email directly, I'm going to do it here.  I know they won't see it, but it makes me feel better having "replied" anyway.

Dear U.S. Department of Education,

This message is very insulting!  The federal tax filing deadline has passed?  Since when?  We will not be filing our returns until April 17th (the actual federal tax filing deadline), I can assure you of that.  Carl may be filing his earlier, but he is having trouble obtaining his W-2s.

The tax information we provided to you was a very educated estimate.  The amounts will not vary by more that 5% in either direction and should be more than adequate for you to complete your part of the approval process.
 

All that aside, it really is a mystery to me why you need all this information.  My son is nearly 20 years old.  A fully grown man and legally an adult; responsible for his own life and finances.  Why in the world do you need to know how much my wife and I earn when neither one of us is applying for assistance?  All you should be asking us is whether or not we will be aiding him financially in his educational goals.  Other than that, it's really none of your business!

Oh!  I love the part of your message that tells me "do not update other information that was correct at the time you filed" the application.  What?!?  If the information is correct, why would I update it?  But thanks for telling me.  Hell, I was ready to fill out the whole damn form again!  Whew!  So glad I don't have to do that...  Oh and I am allowed to update the incorrect information?  Really?  Thanks, I didn't know that...  My god you people are idiots.

If April 17th is too late for you to receive 100% accurate tax information, then you'll have to use the amounts we originally provided.

Have a wonderful day.  I know you've just brightened mine.

Mark Bonafe

Newt Gingrich, Just Shut Up Already!

Is there a bigger idiot in politics these days than Newt? I say no. My evidence?

Newt Gingrich said in a statement today,

"With today's decision on marriage by the Ninth Circuit, and the likely appeal to the Supreme Court, more and more Americans are being exposed to the radical overreach of federal judges and their continued assault on the Judeo-Christian foundations of the United States. The Constitution of the United States begins with 'We the People'; it does not begin with 'We the Judges'. Federal judges need to take heed of that fact. Federal judges are substituting their own political views for the constitutional right of the people to make judgments about the definition of marriage."

Really, Newton? You're trying to become the President of the United States of America, and you use the logic of an eight year old in your arguments?  Wait, I don't mean to insult eight year old kids...

Let's try replacing some words in your argument to see how well it holds up:

"With today's decision on suffrage... more and more Americans are being exposed to the radical overreach of federal judges and their continued assault on the male dominated foundations of the United States. The Constitution of the United States begins with 'We the People'; it does not begin with 'We the Judges'. Federal judges need to take heed of that fact. Federal judges are substituting their own political views for the constitutional right of the men to make judgments about their superiority."

Ok, that was just for fun. Let's use a really good one.

"With today's decision on slavery ... more and more Americans are being exposed to the radical overreach of federal judges and their continued assault on the economic foundations of the United States. The Constitution of the United States begins with 'We the People'; it does not begin with 'We the Judges'. Federal judges need to take heed of that fact. Federal judges are substituting their own political views for the constitutional right of the people to make judgments about their property (slaves)."

hmmm. Me thinks it doesn't hold up very well.

You see, Newton, you need to take heed of the fact that we have a Republican form of government here in the United States. You are a "constitutional scholar," at least you say you are. I know you teach it in college courses. Your poor students... If you'd just pay attention to your own studies, you would understand that our form of government is setup to protect individuals and individual rights. It is not designed to operate based on mob rule.

The vast majority of people in the United States are allowed to enter into a contract with someone else that grants them special legal privileges. As far as the state is concerned, that's all a marriage is! It's a contract between two adults that says they are committed to each other. A marriage binds property and finances to the couple. It allows privileges in a host of circumstances that may arise in one or both of their lives.

Sure, legal contracts could be drawn up to grant most of these privileges to a same sex couple, but why should they have to concern themselves with all the details (and expense) that would go into setting them up when the rest of us get the benefit of one simple term that covers it all, marriage.

Let them have it! If it's our right, then it's theirs, too. Besides, Newton, how is it hurting you? How is it harming your beloved Judeo-Christian lifestyle or institutions? Are they forcing their lifestyle on you? Are they carriers of some disease that only manifests itself with a marriage contract? Will they ever - ever - be a member of your church? If they can marry, does it mean that we'll be surrounded by same sex couples? Like there's so many of them you've never seen just waiting to become a majority when marriage is legal for them? Is their behavior going to be responsible for you going to hell? I think we both know that's not the case. You're going to hell - if there is one - for a host of other, well publicized, reasons. No need to expound further...

You and Mitt (another joke) throw around terms like "unelected Judges are overstepping their [fill in the blank]." Well, of course they're unelected, you idiot! You of all people, a "constitutional scholar," should know that they're not elected because they would never be able to reach an unbiased conclusion on any case if they were beholden to you and your corporate money and warped views and massive ego! They don't have to please you!  That's the law!  Yeah, that's the law and it's eating you up that we don't have to live by the same values that you live by.  Good thing!

You, sir, have been educated well beyond your intelligence! Your ignorance is astounding! And the fact that you've gotten as far in your political career - to be so close to becoming the next president - is shameful. Shame on us, the citizens of this great country, for allowing you, with your your self-serving lifestyle and obvious distaste for individual rights, for allowing your achievements.

Just looking at you makes me sick! There oughta be a law...

It's Time to Take a Stand

The presidential election is right around the corner.  Please take a stand and vote your core beliefs this time around instead of voting for who you "think" has a chance of winning.

As a country, we are bankrupt.  Militarily, our empire spans the entire globe; costing us untold fortune in lives, dollars, and credibility.  We cannot afford the same old ideas that took us to where we are right now.  We need a new direction.

Quickly!  Who do you know that will cause Washington to pause and reflect on real change?  Is it Romney?  Is it Gingrich?  Is it Santorum?  Is it (lol) Perry?  No!  Neither of these people have the conviction or the willpower to cause any real changes - or to make anyone even think there needs to be a change.  And I think we all know that big changes are necessary in Washington.

Is it Obama?  He ran on a good promise and failed to deliver.  So hell no.  He can't do it either.

Only one is in the position to make it happen.  For your viewing pleasure:

We Have Crossed the Rubicon

Today, with permission, I am posting an article by Eric Peters.   I think we should all be very leery about what our government is doing.  The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 is one very scary document that is about to become the law of the land.  It's 926 pages of government speak, so click on the link above knowing what you're getting into...  But if you need further proof, check this out:

Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. McCain speak on Detainees on Senate Floor - 11/29/11

And now, Eric's article:

Do you suppose cows have any idea what’s coming as they’re marched down the chute? Or do they stare with bovine indifference at the tail and hind quarters in front of them, until they’re suddenly – and very briefly – startled by the man with the nail gun? 

Perhaps Americans will – likewise too late – ask themselves What Happened in the very near future. Perhaps just after the midnight knock comes and they are taken away into the night.

It is not an exaggeration.

America is now on the cusp of becoming a state that does exactly such things; things exactly like the things done by 20th century horror shows such as NS Germany or Stalin’s USSR. Literally. Not “this is where it might lead” or “the tendency is similar.” Exactly, literally, the same thing. The only difference is that it awaits being done on a mass scale. But the power to do it openly – brazenly – has been asserted.

And is about to be sanctified by law.

The National Defense Authorization Act will make it official. It will confer upon the executive branch and the military (increasingly, the same things) the permanent authority to snatch and grab any person, U.S. citizens included, whom it decrees to be a “terrorist” – as defined or not by the executive or the military -  and imprison them, indefinitely, without formal charge, presentation of evidence or judicial proceeding of any kind. These “detainees” will have neither civilian rights in the civil court system, nor – crucially – even the minimal rights to due process and decent treatment conferred upon prisoners of war. (And we are allegedly “at war,” are we not?)

The language of the bill specifically includes American citizens “caught” within the borders of the United States – aka, the “battlefield.” It is claimed by sponsors that only those awful them – you know, the enemies of freedom President Bush and his successors like to reference as they systematically gut our freedoms – need worry. But read the actual document, and be afraid. The wording is such that any shyster lawyer for the government will be able to draw up a memorandum at some point in the near future equating, say, criticism of the federal government’s policies in the Middle East with “substantially supporting” the enemies of the United States. As defined by the United States.

That is, as defined by the government. 

At its whim. At the personal discretion of whomever happens to be the Maximum Leader, or even one of the ML’s duly appointed minions.

As the always excellent Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone recently observed, what happens when some nutjob who attended a few Tea Party meetings tries to bomb a federal building? Will the Tea Party itself – and anyone who “substantially supports” it be thus transformed into an “enemy combatant”? How about the OWS protestors? How about this web site – and this author – which have on several occasions called bullshit on the federal government’s usurpations and follies? How hard will it be, really, to describe such actions – such thoughts expressed in an article or an interview – as “substantially supporting” whatever the government decides amounts to “terrorism” or the threat thereof against itself?

Surely, the door is now wide open for such an interpretation by some John Woo or Dick Cheney waiting in the wings. Prospective leader Newtie is practically turgid at the prospect of getting his hands on such power. And there is no longer (or soon won’t be) any legal means available to contest a one-way trip to Treblinka in Topeka – or wherever it is they will send you.

Taibbi writes:

“The really galling thing is that this act specifically envisions American citizens falling under the authority of the bill. One of its supporters, the dependably-unlikeable Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, bragged that the law ‘basically says … for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield’ and that people can be jailed without trial, be they ‘American citizen or not.’ New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte reiterated that ‘America is part of the battlefield.’ ”

Graham further stated:

“It is not unfair to make an American citizen account for the fact that they decided to help Al Qaeda to kill us all and hold them as long as it takes to find intelligence about what may be coming next. And when they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them, ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.’ ”

The key thing being, it is entirely up to the government to decide what constitutes “helping” al Qaeda. It can be nothing more than a vague assertion. Indeed, no evidence of any kind whatsoever is necessary to “hold them as ling as it takes” in order to “find intelligence” (not defined, either) by any means it wishes to employ.

As Taibbi notes:

“If these laws are passed, we would be forced to rely upon the discretion of a demonstrably corrupt and consistently idiotic government to not use these awful powers to strike back at legitimate domestic unrest.”

President Obama is about to sign this latter-day Enabling act and when he does, it will mark the moment that America’s coffin is nailed shut. The corpse has been on view since 9/11. But there was always some hope that, perhaps, it might be jolted back into life. Now we know the awful truth. Death is permanent.

And it’s coming for us.

What are "We" Doing?

...and why?

I'm talking about the recent Iranian capture of an RQ-170 stealth drone. 

First of all, I should say that I've never been a fan of our decision to go off on a military adventure in the middle east.  I never thought we should've gone to either Afghanistan or Iraq.  Neither country was or is capable of waging war with the United States. 

But, Mark!  What about 9/11?  Look, the fact that a few radicals were able to pull off an attack doesn't change anything.  Find out who was responsible for the attack and take care of business.  We didn't need to send, literally, armies of people to occupy foreign countries - countries that were never a threat to our security - to accomplish this!

I know it's popular to take this stance these days.  But I've been very consistent with my opinion on this matter.  I never thought it was a good idea to move on the middle east the way we have.

Now we have Iran.  They have a nuclear facility that by all accounts only produces electricity.  Our current administration and nearly all republicans are at it again, beating the drums of war.  All because they have a nuclear facility?!?  Really??  Does anyone in government remember how to be a diplomat?

This is a joke, right?

And just who is going to declare War?  Congress?  Ok, sure, that's gonna happen...  The American public doesn't have the stomach for war with anyone!  So, we will just march on Iran - illegally - just like we did with Afghanistan, just like we did with Iraq, just like we did with Libya.

I guess we have to have a playground for all our new toys, right?  Toys like the RQ-170 stealth drone.  Does anyone really believe that the drone wasn't in Iranian air space?  Anyone?  Give me a break!  The drone was in Iran checking on a nuclear facility - plain and simple.  That is much easier to believe than the official story that it was flying in Afghanistan air space, only "close" to the Iran border.  Really?  And just what targets are we looking for that close to the Iranian border?  What was it we were supposedly spying on?

It's really getting pathetic.  Listening to the government is like listening to some teenagers.  Your told more lies than the truth.  Eventually, you assume everything is a lie until you can verify otherwise.  That's where I am right now.  You can't believe one single word the government says.

We need to get out of there.  Our soldiers are dying and getting severely injured, we're wasting multiple trillions of dollars, and now we're giving away technology that would normally give us an advantage when we really need it. 

And we're making more enemies every minute we stay...

What the hell are we doing?

Welcome to the Fold

As a student of Karate, I've heard many stories about the Samurai sword, or Katana.  There are many different names for the sword, depending in the length of the blade, number of edges, etc.  Japanese swords are renowned for their sharpness.  In the hands of a Samurai warrior, the katana is one of the most deadly weapons ever used.

What is it that makes the Katana so sharp?  It's just a steel blade, and usually made from scrap steel at that!  The most common lamination method of manufacturing the Japanese sword blade is from a combination of two different steels: a harder outer jacket of steel wrapped around a softer inner core of steel. This creates a blade which has a unique, hard, highly razor sharp cutting edge with the ability to absorb shocks in a way which reduces the possibility of the blade breaking or bending when used in combat.

Forged steel, hadagane and tamahagane, are folded transversely and longitudinally. At each folding stage, it is heated and cooled down by water again and again. This procedure oxidizes the steel surface and removing these oxidated layers greatly reduces the content of impurities inside steel.

Beginning in the 10th century, Japanese were discovering the methods of producing fine steel blades from iron ore panned from rivers. This panned ore was smelted in a wood coke furnace and the crude metal was broken up into pieces, forged flat and stacked into billets. These stacks were forge welded together and forged to length. Then it was folded, first length wise and after welding and forging again, folded sideways and welded again. This process was repeated from 8 to 16 times in order to refine the impurities out of the steel and to remove excess carbon. 16 folds provides 65,536 layers of steel if you start with one single layer. But swordsmiths did not always start with only one layer.  Starting with an 8 layer stack, 16 folds will give 524,288 layers.  One more fold and there are easily over a million layers of steel in one blade!

The folding does several things:

• It provides alternating layers of differing hardenability. During quenching, the high carbon layers achieve greater hardness than the medium carbon layers. The hardness of the high carbon steels combine with the ductility of the low carbon steels to form the property of toughness.
• It eliminates any voids in the metal.
• It homogenizes the metal, spreading the elements evenly throughout - increasing the effective strength by decreasing the number of potential weak points.
• It burns off many impurities.
• Because of all the layers, a micro-serrated edge is formed on the blade; making it very sharp.

 Ok, Mark.  What's with the history lesson?

Well, as I said, I am a student of Karate.  I've heard our instructors relate stories of how training in the martial arts is much like the manufacturing of a Japanese sword.  We are heated in the fires of our own bodies.  Driven physically until we are near breaking.  Then we are taken from the fire and "hammered" into shape further; learning the finer points of punching, kicking, grabbing, and throwing techniques.  We practice these techniques over and over until it is ingrained in our muscles.  Eventually, with enough practice, we will do the techniques with barely a thought!  This is where the mental training takes form.  Our instructors tell us that we are much stronger physically than we ever imagined.  It's our mental training that requires the most work.  It's mental toughness that makes us warriors.  The stronger we are mentally, the more we can do physically.  The more we can prove to ourselves that we are physically strong, the better we become mentally.  It's a wonderful cycle that feeds on itself.

It's a great visual when it's told, and we are worked very hard in the dojo.  I "got it" when it was told, it's a pretty easy concept to understand.  Work hard = fire, training in technique = hammer.  And I thought I had a real taste of "it" while training.   Little did I know the real lesson had to be learned the hard way.

Welcome to the 1st BMAA Winter Camp...

The camp was held last weekend in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I went there expecting two days of good, hard, workouts and a dose of inspiration.  My expectations were so vastly exceeded that it's hard to find the right words to explain it all.

The day we arrived, the winds picked up to a steady 30-35 mph with gusts up near 45, the temperature dropped to a high of 50ish and lows in the low 40s.  Yes, many of our activities were outside.  We were pitted against the wind, cold, and darkness Saturday morning on Jockey's Ridge; large sand dunes.  Pushups, break falls, crawling on hands and knees up the dunes, front rolling down, carrying partners on our backs back up the dunes.  A good start to the day.  We head back to the hotel to do another hour, followed by a workout in the ocean.

The waves and wind are tremendous.  We punch the sand.  We get in stance and practice punches and blocks.  We stand together against the ocean.  The cold of the water starts to take it's toll.  You don't feel it until you get back inside, but the morning activity wears on you.  The breakfast break feels good.  Ready for more...

By 9:00 AM, we're back at it.  More than 2 full hours of non-stop activity.  Kicks.  Punches.  Blocks.  Throwing.  Being thrown.  More pushups.  More everything.  When it's over, you think your spent.  But you know the day is just getting started.  You set your attitude accordingly.

Physically, you think you're spent.  But it's just a thought, it's not real.  After lunch, the lesson of fire and hammer and folding - repeated over and over - is about to take place.  Only we don't know it.

"Be ready to go at 2:00," was the call.  "If you're early, you're on time.  If you're on time, your late!  If you're late, you're in trouble!!"  Everyone was "on time."

The afternoon workout starts like nearly all workouts.  But 20 minutes in, it gets intense!  The instructors don't let up.  AT ALL.  Their intensity grows.  They demand more.  And more.  And then more.  Faster!  Deeper stances!  45 minutes into the workout and you're exhausted, you think...

The sweat is, quite literally, a constant stream, soaking your Gi through and through.  The instructors are still not letting up.  Your muscles are nearly depleted - or are they?  A strange thing begins to happen.  You take notice of the group of students there with you.  You aren't alone.  Everyone is struggling.  You can't stop.  If you stop, the whole class might slow down or stop with you.  You're not a quitter!  You can't let them quit!

Your mind takes over.  Mentally, you find strength in the spirit of the rest of the class.  You're Ki grows.  You will your muscles to keep up, and they do!

Your mind controls your body.  Your body can do amazing things.  It's our minds that are the weak link.  Just as you're figuring this out, you're sent to the beach.  Quality time again with mother nature.

Can't quit.  Gotta keep going.  The other warriors depend on me!  I depend on them!  Gotta keep my spirit up, my strength - for them as well as myself.  Giving up is not an option.

Amazingly, we all stick it out.  Not one of us gives up.  Our spirit and camradery hold the afternoon.  But the day isn't done.  After the beach, it's back inside.

Normally, this would be where we start to wind things down.  Not this time.  There's more.  Much more!  Now I must "defend" myself against multiple black belts at the same time.  Of course I cannot.  I don't have the experience.  I'm working on 5 hours sleep and my heart is still pounding from the most difficult workout I've ever been through.  My muscles ache.  But I don't give up...  Again, my mind takes over.  My mind demands my body to react, as best I can with my current skill set.  My body listens!

Like the Japanese sword, I am being folded.  What an unbelievable lesson.  One that can only be taught this way.  We were driven to to brink of exhaustion, to exactly the point we needed to be so that we could learn by example.

Mike, John, Suzanne.  Thank you so much!

If you were there with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  You felt it just as I did!

We are being folded to razor sharp, hard, warriors!  Our minds are strong and only getting stronger!

Our journey is just beginning.  And I am loving every minute.

I'm going to wrap this up with my favorite quote of all time.  It is very appropriate for this occasion.  Enjoy.

OSU!