tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16492944393488152512024-03-13T16:50:54.375-04:00TOBLOGThe Comedy's ObserverToby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-31279823702228992202017-02-24T10:52:00.001-05:002017-02-24T10:52:04.604-05:00Southern Crescent by Toby Gearhart and Deborah Luper<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LbHAI8HML1o" width="459"></iframe>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-86607190248878116472016-12-02T10:40:00.000-05:002016-12-02T10:41:08.001-05:00ROMAN REDUX TOO<br />
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The Barbarians Who Sacked Rome Came Into the Empire as Refugees</h1>
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<span class="sep">Posted on </span><a href="http://gatesofvienna.net/2016/11/the-barbarians-who-sacked-rome-came-into-the-empire-as-refugees/" rel="bookmark" title="9:20 pm"><time class="entry-date" datetime="2016-11-30T21:20:27+00:00">November 30, 2016</time></a><span class="by-author"> <span class="sep"> by </span> <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="http://gatesofvienna.net/author/Baron/" rel="author" title="View all posts by Baron Bodissey">Baron Bodissey</a></span></span> </div>
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<i>In his latest essay, Emmet Scott explores the parallels between
the barbarian invasions of Rome in the 4th century A.D. with the
migrant invasions of Europe in the 21st century.</i><br />
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<b>The Barbarians Who Sacked Rome Came Into the Empire as Refugees</b><br />
<i>by Emmet Scott</i><br />
Over the past century many commentators have remarked on the
parallels between the modern West and ancient Rome in its period of
decadence and decline. The most influential proponent of the idea,
perhaps, has been Oswald Spengler, whose <i>Decline of the West</i> is
now widely viewed as a classic of conservative thought. As might be
imagined, “progressives” have consistently sneered at the idea, but,
then again, they would scarcely be progressives if they didn’t. One is
reminded of the Chinese saying: “When a fool sees the Tao [Truth] he
laughs. If he did not laugh it would not be the Tao.”<br />
The parallels between decadent Rome and the modern West are actually
there. And they are uncanny, and they are becoming more numerous by the
day.<br />
In 410 A.D. the walls of Rome were breached and the city plundered by
a barbarian army under the leadership of Alaric the Goth. This was the
first time since the Gallic sack of the city around 390 B.C. that the
imperial metropolis had been entered by a hostile enemy. The fall of
Rome shocked the world at the time, but what is not generally known
nowadays is that the Gothic army that carried out the atrocity had
entered the Empire thirty years earlier as refugees.<br />
Until the second half of the fourth century the Goths had inhabited a
vast swathe of territory taking what now comprises Romania as well as
the Ukraine. In 375, however, they were attacked by the Huns, a tribe of
nomad warriors from central Asia who had been moving steadily westwards
during the preceding century and a half. In the ensuing war the Goths
suffered a crushing defeat and large numbers of them fled westwards
towards the Roman Empire. By the summer of 376 an enormous host of
Goths, generally estimated at around 100,000, arrived at the River
Danube and pleaded with the Roman authorities to be allowed into the
Empire.<br />
The Eastern Emperor Valens, at that moment stationed in Antioch,
eventually gave permission for the Therving tribe, which comprised about
half the total number of Gothic refugees, to be ferried across the
river. For at least two centuries prior to this the Romans had actively
recruited barbarians into the army (necessary because of Rome’s
abysmally low birth-rate) and Valens reasoned that the Goths would
provide a valuable pool of new and cheap recruits. The operation to
ferry these people across the Danube was an enormous and costly one and
took several weeks to complete and, as Ammianus Marcellinus
sarcastically comments, “diligent care was taken that no future
destroyer of the Roman state should be left behind, even if he were
smitten by a fatal disease.”<br />
Unsurprisingly, within a few weeks of their entry into the Empire,
the first clashes with the Roman authorities occurred, and by the end of
the summer the Goths were at war with Rome. After several military
disasters, the Emperor Valens made a hasty return to Constantinople to
personally take charge of the campaign, and was killed in battle at
Adrianople in 378 — just two years after he had sanctioned the mass
immigration.<br />
<span id="more-41576"></span>
But worse was to come. A decade and a half of uneasy peace was
terminated in 395 by a renewed Gothic war, this time under the
leadership of Alaric. Commanding an enormous host of warriors (who were
in fact officially soldiers in the Roman army) Alaric moved south from
Thrace into Greece, a land which he proceeded to devastate. City after
city was taken, its male population massacred, its female population
raped and sold into slavery, and its wealth plundered. Finally, in 396
the Western Empire bestirred itself and its greatest general Stilicho
was dispatched with a sizeable force to the relief of Hellas. After a
lengthy game of cat and mouse around the Peloponnesian Peninsula the
Goths were trapped by the superior science and tactics of the Roman
general. Unfortunately, however, Stilicho did not prosecute the siege to
its conclusion and the Goths effected a daring escape and made their
way to Epirus.<br />
At this moment a Greek political philosopher named Synesius published
a widely-discussed treatise on the present emergency and the measures
that needed to be taken. He exhorted the emperor to, “revive the courage
of his subjects by the example of manly virtue; to banish luxury from
the court and from the camp; to substitute, in the place of barbarian
mercenaries, an army of men in the defence of their laws and of their
property … to rouse the indolent citizen from his dream of pleasure. …
At the head of such troops who might deserve the name, and would display
the spirit, of Romans, he [encouraged the emperor] never to lay down
his arms till he had chased them [the barbarians] far away into the
solitudes of Scythia, or had reduced them to the state of ignominious
servitude …” In the words of Gibbon, “The court of [Emperor] Arcadius
indulged the zeal, applauded the eloquence, and neglected the advice of
Synesius.” Instead of exile in the solitudes of Scythia, Alaric was
actually promoted to the rank of master-general of the province of
Eastern Illyricum, and the Roman provincials, remarks Gibbon, “were
justly indignant that the ruin of Greece and Epirus should be so
liberally rewarded.”<br />
Does all of this sound eerily familiar? Yet even worse was to come;
for the patriot who had saved Greece from Alaric, the general Stilicho,
was himself only a decade later denounced by the Roman ruling class and
murdered, along with his entire family. This was after Stilicho had
saved Italy from a second attack by Alaric, as well as from another
barbarian host led by one Rhadagastus which had crossed the Alps and
devastated the Po Valley.<br />
What kind of society brings in barbarians who cannot be assimilated
in order to replace the children it refused to have; which excuses and
rewards the horrific crimes of those barbarians; and which punishes
patriots who try to stop the depredations of the said barbarians?Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-64404350345403849542016-05-24T09:18:00.001-04:002016-05-24T09:18:03.657-04:00Donald Trump is going to win: This is why Hillary Clinton can’t defeat what Trump represents<a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/05/23/donald_trump_is_going_to_win_this_is_why_hillary_clinton_cant_defeat_what_trump_represents/">Donald Trump is going to win: This is why Hillary Clinton can’t defeat what Trump represents</a>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-35573416394469729672016-02-23T11:06:00.001-05:002016-02-23T11:06:24.871-05:00All I Saw Was You by Toby Gearhart<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5oR3gA-Hywg" width="459"></iframe>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-52641094170600688342014-12-02T10:06:00.000-05:002014-12-02T10:06:13.192-05:00STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS -- PAST<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-4Ep8jpBLHNO62MNo3Mb8iCizfnrofoh_QE_zvjJ7HmHLCHocAYf9wBDP3dtM9ikl51mz7DFzqBQkA3DVlncj-bTBMGJILJEtVlujZQi2o-3TNAz9CPMB5kn7f84PoztX-VZJ805s10/s1600/AMG+Snowman+05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-4Ep8jpBLHNO62MNo3Mb8iCizfnrofoh_QE_zvjJ7HmHLCHocAYf9wBDP3dtM9ikl51mz7DFzqBQkA3DVlncj-bTBMGJILJEtVlujZQi2o-3TNAz9CPMB5kn7f84PoztX-VZJ805s10/s320/AMG+Snowman+05.jpg" /></a></div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-86904108675257454812014-12-02T10:04:00.000-05:002014-12-02T10:04:36.401-05:00THIS OLD HOUSE 1900<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyP0u1DXNpstST4if2gx99gkqWxZC97efypPKUphYmFvK5aPX1sfptwdNAqMEukLlNScgz9NNPecOj-oaPsxpIeBVBtBEkhQWHL_vXEHJShViLshnxGuMIb0BnfVfyVTpWh4MR6ZlEzeU/s1600/Ridgely+life+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyP0u1DXNpstST4if2gx99gkqWxZC97efypPKUphYmFvK5aPX1sfptwdNAqMEukLlNScgz9NNPecOj-oaPsxpIeBVBtBEkhQWHL_vXEHJShViLshnxGuMIb0BnfVfyVTpWh4MR6ZlEzeU/s320/Ridgely+life+008.jpg" /></a></div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-41073687744708609862013-11-11T16:38:00.000-05:002013-11-12T02:18:31.043-05:00PRETTY ABSINTHE<br/a> Pretty Absinthe came from the sky<br />
Once again she brought love to life
<br />
Now she's gone and all you want to do is die<br />
<br />
A war like lash to the face
<br />
On an old battlefield now full of blue mandolin melodies
<br />
You want to join the 1000 ghost chorus of this place<br />
<br />
An aura of light remains from this love at first sight
<br />
They say love ending badly is better than no love at all
<br />
You embrace the ghost of that first night<br />
<br />
Shattered shards of memories they're everywhere
<br />
Your porch, your bed, your sad old house on the corner
<br />
The lover, now the stranger, ghosts of sorrow and joy live there<br />
<br />
Did it really have to end this way?
<br />
Did she really have to go away?
<br />
<br />
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away...cuts to the bone
<br />
Now it's you and the ghosts all alone.<br />
<br />
<br />
Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-78342793814281366182012-11-20T13:22:00.000-05:002013-10-04T07:44:21.477-04:00Sejour a Ridgely -- music by Django Reinhardt & Toby Gearhart<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FYr39Api3E0?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-53994320438864039142012-06-10T18:51:00.000-04:002012-12-04T18:55:11.089-05:00Nancy Satterfield Gearhart -- 1953 - 2012<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u1XDY8Kdtsw?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-55752034580727570182011-02-05T12:26:00.000-05:002012-12-04T19:03:27.519-05:00Tuckahoe Haikulittle Paul runs behind old Edwin's plow<br />way down in Tuckahoe Neck where soil is rich and deep<br /><br />a Spring shower waters seeds that they sow<br />and reveals old Indian stones for little Paul to reapToby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-37678146837301784412010-01-25T09:53:00.000-05:002010-06-22T14:00:01.575-04:00Tuckahoe River And Old Railroad Bridge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SOUfyzfW-xNI-K9n_jTyKZi5gRtqzH4f4KFcq4ZbtcuhEKI-9rMHpjeKcLluyJl7qZXPb2FBn5X5ohpGgaF2e6CdB7jfAJ5LO3ysYNbu89CbZIv2yU7m9JReUaRM4nC-rH2QXmSFDyo/s1600/1122090744.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409912244497904434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SOUfyzfW-xNI-K9n_jTyKZi5gRtqzH4f4KFcq4ZbtcuhEKI-9rMHpjeKcLluyJl7qZXPb2FBn5X5ohpGgaF2e6CdB7jfAJ5LO3ysYNbu89CbZIv2yU7m9JReUaRM4nC-rH2QXmSFDyo/s320/1122090744.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-31893414944119855772009-12-29T19:14:00.004-05:002009-12-30T11:49:17.708-05:00Year End Toblog RambleI just got back from Philly, and I am thinking about all kinds of things my trip to my friend Trip's has made clear.<br /><br />First, the decline of the Philly part of traditional urban America is over. Good 'ole Trip from Texas by way of Greensboro, lives in a part of Philly, where people like me would have gone to commit suicide not too many years ago. Beautiful row homes rise among the ruins and empty lots around Thompson and North 7th. In fact, a majority of the homes for blocks around are either new or renovated. Now, these aren't "evil gentrifiers" taking over to dispossess the urban poor. The whole host of the tapestry that makes America was to be seen in all of this wonderful development. Did I say "development"? Well yes, the hand of government both local and federal is quite evident here. From actual incentives to builders, to significant help to buyers, government has definitely been more than a midwife to this Renaissance. Face it, if both Democrats and Republicans are locomotives for big government, we the consumers of political BS need to be more selective as to which type of big government we want lording over us -- sorry Ron Paul, it's too late.<br /><br />FACEBOOK! I love it! It has brought me back in touch with so many people, who I have actually now seen again after many years. Projects long ago abandoned that should have been continued, in music, or friendship, have come back to life. Those who say they don't have time for FB, should think again. In our uber mobile lifestyle, this cyber reunion is a great vehicle to restore community.<br /><br />Good 'ole Ridgely did some house cleaning. P.T. Barnum was right that a "sucker is born every minute". From the look of what was governing our fair town, one was born every second. Well, Mumford and Co. have done some house cleaning, and the clowns were sent packing. Now, everything isn't perfect, but is anything in this world? The "house cleaning" does leave me with a problem, though. The foolishness that used to go on in town hall provided foil for many a Toblog article--nearly killed the Toblog bullmeter. Now that the circus has left town, I don't have nearly as much to write about. I'm sure, however, that something will surface and the comedy will continue. Happy New Year!Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-38486146787322740822009-12-17T16:26:00.003-05:002009-12-17T16:39:32.528-05:00Bona Saturnalia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBZ90hS4LPKDk3qhaCqbw2GqP3HTwIM2-pisA_RTdlTsjpuTUo8P7P_Ulnj4eEARqphnNWBnE6K_c88PYFBxTBTOPy2kqKTSOR2uHTRLL9ORxSNhBaZRc2fLlm79BBmW_sdsqfFbFeSk/s1600-h/261879-11-bona-saturnalia.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416322479230149970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBZ90hS4LPKDk3qhaCqbw2GqP3HTwIM2-pisA_RTdlTsjpuTUo8P7P_Ulnj4eEARqphnNWBnE6K_c88PYFBxTBTOPy2kqKTSOR2uHTRLL9ORxSNhBaZRc2fLlm79BBmW_sdsqfFbFeSk/s320/261879-11-bona-saturnalia.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Back in the day (753 B.C. to 390 A.D.),this year end celebration started on the 17th. The yearly celebration continued until public displays of pagan worship were banned by the emperor Theodosius. The date of the birth of Christ isn't clear, but the choice of December 25th was most likely seen as a way of co-opting this popular holiday into the Christian tradition. Anyhow, no harm in a little anachronistic merriment--bona Saturnalia!</div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-3122836823498844012009-10-14T10:55:00.003-04:002009-10-14T10:59:01.491-04:00Putting The Final Touches On Cambridge Mural<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP720qxxgMR7hRKD9xBFr_iPm5JokhgvQMG-XDcLkdTlxfEr91zxvbXBuI-zousKbSpp-ImpY9OcJlwnU-ugKiQAEDTpHsb539HmM0RgrjP34UU8r2D_e_jhZLoyqPfWhVK4SUfqnL7Q/s1600-h/1014091038.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392469906906610690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP720qxxgMR7hRKD9xBFr_iPm5JokhgvQMG-XDcLkdTlxfEr91zxvbXBuI-zousKbSpp-ImpY9OcJlwnU-ugKiQAEDTpHsb539HmM0RgrjP34UU8r2D_e_jhZLoyqPfWhVK4SUfqnL7Q/s320/1014091038.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-28880864575985013672009-10-09T08:19:00.005-04:002009-10-09T11:20:37.025-04:00Divorce!Did that title get your attention? The sad reality in this town is the fact that if Nancy and I were to be divorced, we could both serve on the town charter reform commission. Currently, we both can't serve since we are family. I love the way our town government is out in front promoting family values!<br /><br />Originally, the question of family members serving together was brought up by our recently fired town manager. Although he proclaimed piously that he simply wanted to include more citizens on boards and commissions, many of us thought he was simply trying to exclude certain persons annoying to him and his agenda. Why the commissioners who fired this town finance wizard persist in this policy is beyond me. Could you imagine the uproar if the commissioners said that there can't be too many persons of color on a commission? Their position on the family is just as harmful to the social fabric.<br /><br />Ridgely has come a long way in the 14 years that I have been serving on the planning and zoning commission. I'll never forget the debate on passing our first preservation guidelines which subsequently saved the endangered old homes on Central Ave. Yet, another town manager stood up and denounced us saying "ah hah, it is about preservation". Well, yes it was. I suppose he was trying to appeal to those who think preservation is a dirty word or would get in the way of developer profits.<br /><br />A politician can appeal to our better or lesser angels. In Ridgely, the fallen angels local demagogues appeal to include the haters of anything old--everything from old homes to old trees. The difference between Ridgely and a Podunk is its traditions! It's sad the way our town is divided. The progressive coalition which protects the town's heritage, and small town quality of life, has barely won the last few elections and is always close to defeat by mediocrity.<br /><br />Along with my wife, I have spent an enormous amount of time on this town over the years. There have been successes but only with constant vigilance. This has a price. I wonder how my daughter's life would be different if so many of my waking hours hadn't been spent worrying about the town? You don't want my services on the charter commission --well, throw me in the brier patch! I hereby resign all my other town commission positions too.Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-85286952057708476972009-10-04T02:28:00.014-04:002009-10-05T08:05:22.342-04:00Of Charter Change, Couples Serving The Town, Awful Voting Choices; Impeachment<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDBqoAmyODzj1bRX4IuzVCtpg5Y-J6ZsManV8QeLE-1cB7_3MxtgRegXWI9ZAupGX6h6QCgGRy76tj6ZAmBeSx68-AwWxgcHBpaQyvadO12YSdxXPYC4f6_ltpuKxNwncc5IwxJrw_KE/s1600-h/hpqscan0001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388634030755117874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDBqoAmyODzj1bRX4IuzVCtpg5Y-J6ZsManV8QeLE-1cB7_3MxtgRegXWI9ZAupGX6h6QCgGRy76tj6ZAmBeSx68-AwWxgcHBpaQyvadO12YSdxXPYC4f6_ltpuKxNwncc5IwxJrw_KE/s320/hpqscan0001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5ucJHE72SHvV4BeQbjFjub9xjTWk0WSe9iZVmJI8v6RJYOixbgZLreeSxdqS1E3J-EE-NrV_UN-1RzgBdgpdcIfJlsK73f78aeHIqq2IVv1qCiAkpWbS4VTkCQ4UzQbx2qswtKvXpoY/s1600-h/hpqscan0001.jpg"></a></div><br /><div>(click on to enlarge)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We received the above letter along with our outrageous water bill today.</div><br /><div><div>Some people in town have forfeited their right to an opinion. One of them is Commissioner Epperly-Glover. WHAT RIGHT DOES ONE OF THE TWO COMMISSION SUPPORTERS OF THE $1.5 MILLION LOAN FOR DEVELOPMENT DISASTER HAVE TO TELL ANYONE HERE WHAT THEY CAN OR CAN'T DO?? THIS IS THE LOAN THAT PUSHED OUR TOWN OVER THE CLIFF. NANCY AND I WERE THE BIGGEST OPPONENTS OF THIS $1.5 MILLION IDIOCY! </div><br /><div></div><div>Maybe the first charter change should allow for impeachment. There are a lot of people in this town who think you should be IMPEACHED for you actions regarding the $1.5 million. But that REQUIRES charter change. And, of course, you don't want both of us to serve on the charter change commission despite our many years of service to this town both together and separately as elected or appointed members of the town commission, planning and zoning commission, tree commission, rails to trails committee, parks and recreation commission, and historic commission. </div><br /><div></div><div>By the way, when are you going to post your new family values proclamation on the town hall door -- no couples need apply? (For more info on the disastrous loan see my June 12th post.)</div><br /><div></div></div>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-84232957187215354392009-09-24T06:47:00.002-04:002009-09-24T12:00:01.895-04:00Roman Redux ?America and the Roman Republic/Empire have each had an immense impact on their respective ages. We haven't yet been around as long as Rome, but taking into account modern time compression, our worldwide impact has been as enormous. We are loved, hated, and emulated.<br /><br />Rome is also a cautionary tale, and the founding fathers constructed a republic of checks and balances in order to avoid the fate of the Roman Republic. Despite the founders best intentions, all my life, I've heard that we are becoming more "Roman" in many undesirable ways. My 6th grade teacher, for example, warned against American emulation of Roman "bread and circuses". Then, (in 1966) the reaction to LBJ's "Great Society" was setting in, and apprehension of welfare state supported decadence was starting to grow. What you don't like about Rome, or modern America, has as much to do with your own political perspective as anything.<br /><br />Today, a whole host of books have recently come out making comparisons between us and Rome such as: "Are We Rome?:The Fall of a Empire and the Fate of America" by Cullen Murphy or "New Dark Age Ahead" by Jane Jacobs. Also, there a number analyzing the "fall" like: "The Fall of the Roman Empire: "A New History of Rome and the Barbarians" by Peter Heather or "The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization" by Bryan Ward-Perkins.<br /><br />By the way, whether or not there was EVEN a "fall", or simply a "transformation", has been debated throughout my lifetime. Lately, the "fall" guys have been making a comeback. And, whether you believe there was a "fall" or not, ALSO depends a lot on your political point of view too. Like Pollyanna said: "..why, those German invaders were simply contributing to the multicultural diversity of Roman society.." Yes, of course, I get it now!<br /><br />I do agree that there was a "fall", AND a "transformation" too. Your society would certainly be "transformed" if its government were to "fall" and be taken over by a horde of well armed barbarians.<br /><br />Let's forget about the PC BS. We are not "all the same" and we have to ask ourselves how could such a group of backward barbarians take over the most advanced society on earth? Something must have gone astray with that society long before the Goths arrived in Rome. And, ever since Edward Gibbon, we've been trying to figure out even which questions to ask. Let's ask the main questions.<br /><br />Let's start with sexual deviancy and orgies. (Now, I have your attention.) Was Roman moral corruption the culprit? Roman orgies and Satyricon like escapades are legendary. However, chronicles of the empire of sexual deviance occurred at the height of its prowess . By the time the Goths walked through the Salarian gate in 410(yes, "walked" -- the descendants of Caesar's legions opened the gate), Christian mores prevailed. Christian Bishops such as Ambrose, forced emperors such as Theodosius, to public penance a few years earlier for their excesses. (Caligula wouldn't have approved.) In a Christian sense, the Rome of Late Antiquity, wasn't decadent.<br /><br />Was the problem one of the concentration of power in fewer and fewer hands? Such a problem certainly weakens a society's political culture. And, America certainly has a problem with the growing concentration of executive power. From the White House to town halls, power is increasingly held in executive hands. At the federal level, our government more and more resembles the Principate of Augustus, which preserved the appearance of a republic but concentrated all power in the emperor's hands. At the small town level, the "Imperial Presidency" is mimicked across America as more and more power is concentrated in executive hands under the pretense of "executive streamlining".<br /><br />Or, is the problem one of a people who have given up and can't or won't defend themselves? Certainly, by the time of the late empire, Romans were scarce in the barbarian dominated legions. Romans were no longer fighters. Aetius was a loner. They had also given up on civic (curiale) activity and were the kind of sheep that we don't usually associate with the vigorous defense of anything.<br /><br />America isn't there yet. Our military is a great barometer of realty and it's hardly a barbarized Roman entity. Overwhelmingly, our middle class supports our military. We, also, still volunteer to serve our local communities. We may be ignored or held in contempt by the rising tide of bureaucratic centralizers, and some of our political elite, but we can still mold our community's destiny.<br /><br />The health of our middle American political culture, which is the backbone of the Republic, is no where near the Roman equivalent of Late Antiquity. What De Tocqueville appreciated and admired in 1835, is still alive locally. With our civic energy, we are unique in the world.<br /><br />Today, we have no shortage of challenges and need this civic capital. Events like 911 or our current financial crisis would have already brought down a state whose people had ALREADY been reduced to grovelling serfdom.<br /><br />Although we look less and less like the republic that the founders envisioned, with the machinery of Washington overwhelmingly in the hand's of the executive branch, our people, particularly the middle class, retain a strong sense of individual initiative and decency. We are still a vigorous people. We are not at all like the Romans of the LATE EMPIRE. Predictions that Americans would "open the gates" to an Alaric are a bit too premature.<br /><br />Tip O'Neal was right when he said:"all politics is local". The federal reflects the local. This means that we need, however, to get to work in our communities, where ultimately, the American way will be won or lost. It is at home where our strength exists, and our renewal will begin, if our democratic experiment is to continue.Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-30772841476033359542009-09-23T07:19:00.003-04:002009-09-23T07:32:28.030-04:00Thank You Kathy SmithKathy Smith faces personal problems that take precedence over the political. Three members of her family have cancer and our prayers should be with her. Normally, giving up an elected office is self defeating, but not in this case.<br /><br />I can't thank her enough for her role in SAVING our town from bankruptcy. Had she not stood alone (very Churchill like) our already staggering financial meltdown would have been fatal. Can you imagine what would have happened if the town manager's pick would have beaten her in the '08 election? (They deny it now, but please remember who was out and about campaigning for the town manager party that year when you pay your outrageous water bills. Those folks deserve to dwell in the political wilderness forever!)<br /><br />Although she can't be replaced, and we will all miss Kathy, I hope that the commissioners will appoint someone of her calibre to finish out her term. Thank you Kathy!Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-48878625579804732152009-09-21T21:43:00.004-04:002009-09-21T22:20:51.966-04:00Town Meeting Report -- Commissioner Smith ResignsCommissioner Kathy Smith has resigned her position as commissioner of Ridgely. There have been growing disagreements between her and the other commissioners. Although resigning my own planning and zoning commission position has tempted me, I do feel that elected officials should not resign and disregard all the supporters who put them in office -- sorry Sarah Palin. I know what a pain the job is. My late father in law, Paul Satterfield, advised against having anything to do with planning and zoning or town politics in general, observing that it's the best way to make enemies here....words of wisdom.<br /><br />The scoop on Kathy will come in the Times Record interview due out Wednesday. In the meantime...the long awaited Ridgely Comprehensive Plan that protects our small town way of life was passed by both the planning commissioners and the commissioners. It took five years to craft this guideline for our town's future.<br /><br />An all out shouting match then broke out between an irate citizen and the commissioners over the 30% waste water sewer rate in town. He was right! Unfortunately, the commission that is now in place didn't make the mess and is stuck with resolving an incredibly AWFUL fiscal problem. There can be no more layoffs to save money or the town will completely shut down. The only solution is for you and me to pony up and pay...sorry for this overall depressing news folks.Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-78555344913179168042009-08-25T12:05:00.003-04:002009-08-25T13:19:06.149-04:00Painting En Plein Air Near Taylor's Island<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuemL9kp9Srn43xTELEdcp-t2Ec_xynAnl-x7AhfIZuXo1i2NBySPRUb-ccyC9WymOX9ljyTFMfVOdU2FUGiBm9wfw2QPLlAllbvlwMVG8TkfDpteIMtsJNfpJik_C3osxnaVAWYRUfw/s1600-h/0825091015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuemL9kp9Srn43xTELEdcp-t2Ec_xynAnl-x7AhfIZuXo1i2NBySPRUb-ccyC9WymOX9ljyTFMfVOdU2FUGiBm9wfw2QPLlAllbvlwMVG8TkfDpteIMtsJNfpJik_C3osxnaVAWYRUfw/s320/0825091015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373912948636075730" /></a><br /><br />This is where I work. I took this on the way to Taylor's Island today. Most people not from the area would have no idea so much unspoiled beauty is so near the D.C. Metro area. In fact, the Capitol no fly security zone starts only 1/2 mile from here.Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-69418220276808250802009-07-30T14:10:00.007-04:002009-08-04T09:58:15.740-04:0021 Years Ago Today -- July 30, 1988<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobtune/694977045/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1392/694977045_83706d0cba_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobtune/694977045/">Philly Homesteaders</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tobtune/">toby.gearhart</a></span></div>Waiting to see what became our first home on August 8, 1988. To quote a certain Mr. Garcia: "what a long strange trip it's been".<br /><br />Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-25833684937970751872009-07-09T16:54:00.005-04:002009-08-04T09:58:56.318-04:00Musical InterludeThe Beatles 2nd coming with Free As A Bird. <br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2UmklsO-hMA&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2UmklsO-hMA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-60062232914803265742009-07-03T11:36:00.004-04:002009-07-03T12:14:00.981-04:00Busking Across Time And SpaceStreet busking is where you can see and hear some of the greatest performances. Here are some of the best that I've seen.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXj2cNfofg-LaJ18XrLkCxdcDHoTLFiUe3-16L8MfQQCaQ93PzVrvDFI2JUvl0fhrTaLzTgAFihjRP4WX-M796ENJ2TBVrlMwxPsAAlSfs_-NbagYrVvnnY79fzcz7FKla74oPXu3jWg/s1600-h/busk4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354264103256841378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXj2cNfofg-LaJ18XrLkCxdcDHoTLFiUe3-16L8MfQQCaQ93PzVrvDFI2JUvl0fhrTaLzTgAFihjRP4WX-M796ENJ2TBVrlMwxPsAAlSfs_-NbagYrVvnnY79fzcz7FKla74oPXu3jWg/s320/busk4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Amerikanische Rockabilly in Muenchen.... </p><p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pcYIbOpgYJ3OPkk3fqxoDklsPFNJM7wHIQRZubJ9kVVn2mFNSW0PDlmoptl9geH7mme6rDqjdZlDwmkB8JptGxWgTMN2xo9J-JMDrAbRlk8I2tK3XLAfQopOaer1ndYpB7xHC-SK8xg/s1600-h/busk3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354264098464029490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 227px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pcYIbOpgYJ3OPkk3fqxoDklsPFNJM7wHIQRZubJ9kVVn2mFNSW0PDlmoptl9geH7mme6rDqjdZlDwmkB8JptGxWgTMN2xo9J-JMDrAbRlk8I2tK3XLAfQopOaer1ndYpB7xHC-SK8xg/s320/busk3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A living statue in Marianplatz in Munich... </p><p><br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-m0_lu7dTXNW-UNWrmirZPX7e8HW-iUBg6epBp5DVwkWq505mbO4E3dr1ud43OfZsi5hMWJxzCTlSfjVUTtQz3kRAWQG78as3ylaX1fkFV6eCtAsl4cFVLjKaGavMfmvncL164pZY3xc/s1600-h/busk2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354264095189748962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-m0_lu7dTXNW-UNWrmirZPX7e8HW-iUBg6epBp5DVwkWq505mbO4E3dr1ud43OfZsi5hMWJxzCTlSfjVUTtQz3kRAWQG78as3ylaX1fkFV6eCtAsl4cFVLjKaGavMfmvncL164pZY3xc/s320/busk2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />a Dane and daughter at Dupont Circle in D.C. .....</p><p><br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkoCar23Xx6DJMWMS4jX95vDNGuFO_zBrDH0q2C7icbGkjlcspUJbsfaOAMtd4xzaDW1nPG7-j3Hj8t19e9z60ZzVW_eMP97MMQIvfQYi74j248pk4lgwoWwAQmTUp6NDlRgLduqMujI/s1600-h/busk1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354264090298402946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 235px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkoCar23Xx6DJMWMS4jX95vDNGuFO_zBrDH0q2C7icbGkjlcspUJbsfaOAMtd4xzaDW1nPG7-j3Hj8t19e9z60ZzVW_eMP97MMQIvfQYi74j248pk4lgwoWwAQmTUp6NDlRgLduqMujI/s320/busk1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Blues at Dupont Circle in D.C. ... </p><p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IiSOaCxzesraWyRrP7lGWCduokcSrh0LNL7j6aLaLj3pZnru5HqsHaEtlphZJ2U8BPD_DUJyYsAXwViO8FaGDZhMjYjuzGfSr3YX7jB1GdZkiumK3IxcyxIVSNM0fzoWw-3tkOUSEfU/s1600-h/busk6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354264107139729474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IiSOaCxzesraWyRrP7lGWCduokcSrh0LNL7j6aLaLj3pZnru5HqsHaEtlphZJ2U8BPD_DUJyYsAXwViO8FaGDZhMjYjuzGfSr3YX7jB1GdZkiumK3IxcyxIVSNM0fzoWw-3tkOUSEfU/s320/busk6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />me trying to steal the show in Lafayette Park, D.C. ...</p>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-10193679093221598092009-06-16T08:00:00.009-04:002009-06-16T11:02:29.917-04:00WWTP "Cancer" -- The Real State Of The Town ReportThe following report is from the commissioner's meeting last night and sums up the dire straights our town is in. (click on report to enlarge.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1-QKRuV0yERbJogkNtM_ImjghsrOulRppEaSyADivQFuls2yFsq9ZlNQTaRWk07cTeuanZJlhVeiYm6nbmFapv0m_ONxndwimNySMTpK6aC1aFO_VGAnFXbzbllgr7EoJluMPJVPjiM/s1600-h/cancer3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347897759428115698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1-QKRuV0yERbJogkNtM_ImjghsrOulRppEaSyADivQFuls2yFsq9ZlNQTaRWk07cTeuanZJlhVeiYm6nbmFapv0m_ONxndwimNySMTpK6aC1aFO_VGAnFXbzbllgr7EoJluMPJVPjiM/s320/cancer3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52moVxTI8WaZVqvljdcDIduqbcPc-FB7AbhsrLayhuTsuReTZqPp0GXMONUMko1-bmIcSyXybkGNbcieSw3qyXQziGWk8xC1bfIkuQWpQob4B3mFcNq1CCn27vmV_YEy0nFe6L2TNF-w/s1600-h/cancer2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347896804185853522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52moVxTI8WaZVqvljdcDIduqbcPc-FB7AbhsrLayhuTsuReTZqPp0GXMONUMko1-bmIcSyXybkGNbcieSw3qyXQziGWk8xC1bfIkuQWpQob4B3mFcNq1CCn27vmV_YEy0nFe6L2TNF-w/s320/cancer2.jpg" border="0" /></a>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649294439348815251.post-46212473995636664122009-06-13T12:57:00.004-04:002009-06-13T13:02:00.048-04:00When Our World Was Young -- A Day In The LifeA great video mix of my fav from the Fab 4.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AiFYOn1AFms&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AiFYOn1AFms&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Toby Gearharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326066304673244118noreply@blogger.com2