The Rude Awakening: September 2014

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 1....Opening Scene in Anatevka

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014.

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 2....Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava Talk about Marriage

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 3....Tevye Invites Perchik Home for the Sabbath

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 4....Tevye Talks to Lazar Wolf at the Inn

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 5....The Engagement of Tzeitel and Motel

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 6....The Dream

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 7....The Wedding of Tzeitel and Motel

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 8....Hodel and Perchik Get Engaged

Produced by the Music & Arts Department of Christ United Methodist Church, Greensboro, NC. Directed by Chip Johnson. Music directed by Cathy West. Choreography by Teresa Lowell. Scenery and Lighting by Bob Thurston. Presented March 6-10, 2014

Cast:
Tevye....Carl Lindquist
Golde....Carol Harris
Tzeitel....Jessica Lowell
Hodel....Amy Brubaker
Chava....Claire Simons
Yente....Laura Edwards
Lazar Wolf....Carl Phillips
Motel Kamzoil....Charley Birkner
Perchik....Clint Pabon
Fyedka.....Hunter Camp
Fruma-Sarah....Heidi Fischer
Grandma Tzeitel....Debbie Staley
Mordcha....Mitch Camp
Rabbi....David Grove
Avrahm....Bill Trivette
Mendel....Mark Ledford
Constable....Jim Gibson
Nachum....Dave Amos
Russian Singer....Frank Kincaid
Sacha....Andrew Long
Shaindel....Betsy Eberhardt
Fiddler....Zachary Mottinger
Chava Sequence Dancer....Catherine Camp

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 9....Hodel Leaving Home

Fiddler on the Roof: Part 10....Leaving Anatevka

Saturday, September 20, 2014

The Beginning of Rand Paul's 2016 Presidential Campaign

No, Rand Paul didn't formally announce his candidacy for the Presidency. But what he did do a few days ago may well have done more than anything else to set the stage for a 2016 run for the Presidency.

Not only was Senator Paul one of only 22 Senators to vote against a new aid package for the Syrian rebels. (He was joined in this by such Democratic liberal notables as Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand.)

He also gave a 45 minutes Senate floor speech, in which he gave his principled reasons for doing, thus setting himself apart from most of his other Republican colleagues (there were 9 other Republicans who voted 'nay' as well, mostly libertarian leaning and thus potential supporters of a Paul nomination).

If there is one theme that connects the dots in the Middle East, it is that chaos breeds terrorism. What much of the foreign policy elite fails to grasp is that intervention to topple secular dictators has been the prime source of that chaos. From Hussein to Assad to Ghaddafi we have the same history. Intervention topples the secular dictator. Chaos ensues and radical jihadists emerge. The pattern has been repeated time after time and yet what we have here is a failure to understand, a failure to reflect on the outcome our involvement in Arab civil wars. They say nature abhors a vacuum. Radical jihadists have again and again filled the chaotic vacuum of the Middle East. Secular dictators, despots who terrorized their own people, are replaced by radical jihadists who seek terror at home and abroad. Intervention when both choices are bad is a mistake. Intervention when both sides are evil is a mistake. Intervention that destabilizes the region is a mistake.

The 'Syrian Free Army'--the supposed recipients of this military aid--will never, in the opinion of many observers, be able to effectively defeat their colleagues--ISIS--in the fight against the Syrian President Assad. They have already announced that they have no intention of doing so. Why should we think they will? This strategy makes no sense to many in both parties and can only make matters worse.

The only possible strategy that might actually work is to cooperate with the current Syrian regime to defeat ISIS. But this administration and this Congress, along with their Israeli allies, are dead-set in their determination to overthrow another Middle Eastern government--Syria--that is allied with Iran, so that is clearly not going to happen.

It seems to me that this decision on the part of the Obama Administration to openly aid the Syrian rebels--in an attempt to fight one of the rebel factions called ISIS--is a major mistake that the American people will quickly tire of and regret.

If that is so, then Senator Paul will be in an excellent position to distinguish himself from other 'pro-war' candidates in the 2016 Presidential contest and gain the support he needs to be competitive.

Of course, the war hawks in both political parties--along with all the institutions of the National Security State that is the US--will be gunning for him, so this will never be an easy thing for a principled non-interventionist like Rand Paul to accomplish.

But frankly, as far as I'm concerned, if it were to come down to Hillary Clinton vs. Rand Paul in November, 2016, I'm pretty sure I know which way I'd go. And it wouldn't be for Clinton #2.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Architects and Engineers Question the Myth of WTC 7

For a while, on and after the actual day of 9/11, I too accepted the media/government-driven story that the World Trade Center buildings were brought down by the heat from fires caused by the collision of two airliners piloted by terrorist hijackers. Why wouldn't you when, shockingly, you saw it happen right before your very eyes, saw thousands of people die in a few moments of hell on earth?

But at some point, I'm not sure when or even why, the shock wore off and I became rational again.

Perhaps it was when I learned that WTC 7 also collapsed that day, only a few hours later, in the same way, completely and quickly. And it had NOT been hit by an airplane, but just had a few office fires and some fairly minor damage in it, caused by flying debris from WTC 1 & 2.

How did that happen? Yes, indeed, how and why did WTC 7 collapse? And actually, when you think about it, why did WTC 1 & 2 collapse like they did, at free-fall speed, because of some fires? I thought they were steel-framed skyscrapers that were designed to withstand fires and airplane collisions.

These questions also apparently bother millions of other people, including thousands of architects and engineers, who have gone on record as questioning the official story/report on the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11. Most of them believe, as I do, that these buildings could only have collapsed because they were 'brought down' by controlled demolition. Any other conclusion does not make any sense.

And when you rationally posit 'controlled demotion' as the cause for the collapse of any of the WTC buildings, then, all of a sudden, nothing about the official theory about 9/11 makes any sense.

Which is why most Americans are afraid to look at this evidence: it is just too disorienting, too shocking, too threatening to their worldview. I understand that. Been there, done there.

But the alternative is actually far worse: living in a delusional, irrational, fearful 'matrix'-like dream world that someone else has dreamed up for you.

Truth or delusion....you choose. Reality or psychological denial. Real evidence or blind obedience. The red pill or the blue pill.

Watch the following 15-minute video, hosted by actor Ed Asner. A longer version of it has recently been shown on the PBS stations in Colorado during their annual fund-raiser. The courageous producer, architect Richard Gage, has also been interviewed on C-Span.

Then you can decide for yourself what you want to think or believe.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Never Forget....What?

Today is the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 event, which changed the history of both the United States and the world in a most terrible way. A horrific tragedy for both American citizens and the rest of the world, it is absolutely right to 'never forget' that day.

Not only were thousands of Americans killed on 9/11, but the resulting wars over the last 13 years have led to the deaths of literally hundreds of thousands of people all around the world, along with all the other disastrous consequences which almost always follow upon warfare, such as poverty, political anarchy, political extremism, loss of civil liberties, and social disorder.

Clearly, something terrible happened on September 11, 2001. But what was it? Truth be told, we still don't know.

We....still....don't....know.

The following hour-long video, in which the courageous statements of literally dozens of scientists, architects, military and intelligence officers are presented, should give any rational and honest person pause. These are clearly not political extremists of any kind but rather intelligent, patriotic Americans and others who simply care about finding out the truth....about 9/11.

Do yourself a favor and watch this. I promise, your intelligence will not be insulted. Challenged certainly, but not insulted. And if you chose not to watch it, please don't tell me that I'm crazy when I refuse to accept the official story. "There is none so blind as those who refuse to see."

In honor and memory of all those who have died....and continue to die....because of 9/11.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Pale Blue Dot

This inspiring video is always worth watching again....

Friday, September 5, 2014

So What Happened to Malaysian Airlines Flight 17?

Given that the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was instantaneously used by the US to further demonize Russia and Vladimir Putin for their alleged actions in eastern Ukraine, one has to ask, "so where are the results from the investigation into the black boxes and other matters related to that flight?"

Indeed, MA17 has completely disappeared from the radar of the world's media and the Western government. It has not been mentioned once in my hearing since long before the flight data recorders were turned over to the British government. It has simply dropped out of sight of the world's consciousness, except on, as someone called it, the global internet samizdat (referring to the dissident literature that once circulated quietly but crucially in the Soviet Union during the Cold War).

I can only conclude basically one thing, viz, that there is no solid evidence connecting Russia or even the eastern Ukrainian separatists, with the downing of MA 17. If there were, believe me, we'd be hearing about it on FOX, CNN, MSNBC, etc. ad nauseum.

There are plenty of alternative theories out there circulating about what really happened, of course. There is the theory that MA 17 was accidentally shot down by the Ukrainian government because they thought it was the official plane of Vladimir Putin, flying back to Russia from the BRIC summit in Brazil, whom they would love to eliminate.

Others think that the Ukrainian government shot down MA17 deliberately, in order to blame it on the pro-Russian separatists and accomplish what indeed has been accomplished, ie. more sanctions, more public revulsion against Russia and Putin, and more support for Ukraine.

Of course, there is always the chance that the rebels accidentally shot down MA17, thinking it was a Ukrainian government military plane coming to bomb there. But even that is somewhat understandable, given its setting in a war zone, and which leads one to ask: "why was MA17 flying directly over a war zone anyway?"

One should always ask the perennial question: qui bono? Or in other words, 'who benefits'? Who derives the benefit or an advantage from an action, because that helps to determine who had an interest in doing something.

In the case of MA17, Russia and the rebels in eastern Ukraine had absolutely no interest in downing the airliner, since we've seen what happened to them in the court of public opinion in the aftermath of the crash. The pro-US regime in Kiev certainly had an interest in being able to blame and stigmatize the rebels for their humanity, and even more, blaming Russia and Putin. So logically, it makes more sense that the Ukrainian government would want to see something like this happen. Of course, to think of anyone plotting to do such a thing is a disgusting thought. But we all know that such things happen when it comes to war: people are willing to do evil things that they would never think of doing in peacetime.

From the beginning the Russians have denied any involvement, just as adamantly as the US blamed them. So there's always been a lot of interest by open-minded people around the world concerning the actually facts and evidence from the wreck itself, and from the intelligence available from the various governments involved.

And we're still waiting.....