Some people believe they can achieve happiness by adding educational degrees, or wealth, or a large home, or any one of a number of things that are not in themselves bad - but by themselves they do not provide happiness. You want certain basics - enough food, a place to live, clean clothes - but adding beyond those basics will not give you happiness.
Happiness is achieved through subtraction, not addition: You take from yourself to give to others.
Like at Christamas, when you discovered that you got more pleasure out of giving than receiving gifts.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Edward M. Kennedy upon the death of his brother Robert F. Kennedy
My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.
Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world.
As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and to those who sought to touch him:
"Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not."
Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world.
As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and to those who sought to touch him:
"Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not."
Autobiography: My Life by Bill Clinton. 2004.
PROLOGUE:
When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The book's main point was the necessity of listing short-, medium-, and long-term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important, the B group next, and the C the last, then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback book, now almost thirty years old. And I'm sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers, though I can't find it. However, I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.
Whether I am a good man is, of course, for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become, nor as bad as my harshest critics assert. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary and Chelsea. Like all families' lives, ours is not perfect, but it has been wonderful. Its flaws, as all the world knows, are mostly mine, and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed, a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency on the shoulders of my personal friends, the now legendary FOBs.
My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score.
As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.
When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The book's main point was the necessity of listing short-, medium-, and long-term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important, the B group next, and the C the last, then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback book, now almost thirty years old. And I'm sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers, though I can't find it. However, I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.
Whether I am a good man is, of course, for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become, nor as bad as my harshest critics assert. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary and Chelsea. Like all families' lives, ours is not perfect, but it has been wonderful. Its flaws, as all the world knows, are mostly mine, and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed, a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency on the shoulders of my personal friends, the now legendary FOBs.
My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score.
As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.
On George S. Patton
George S. Patton
By Brother Mark Dabbs
Nomination of "Old Blood & Guts" to the Order of the Maltese Cross as a Saint may border on blasphemy or be perceived in a context of extreme militancy. Nevertheless, in review of the life and career of General Patton, I can find no man or woman more inspiring in word or deed than him. I've regarded him as a hero since the age of five, and only more so now. I find it difficult to nominate any dead person as a saint for much the same reason as the Old General would, "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other poor bastard die for his." In our context, magicians and martyrs are two different breeds; magicians get the job done and live to tell about it.
Fate followed him his whole life. Growing up, Patton was dyslexic and received schooling from home to assist with his learning difficulties until the age of 11. Following high school, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute in preparation for West Point. He went onto Sweden after winning the American Military Olympics. There, he came in first in fencing against an undefeated Frenchman, the first time in American history. He placed second in swimming, and third in cross-country riding. In pistol marksmanship, witnesses claim that he put two bullets through the same hole. The judges, only required to count the number of holes counted the one and the second as a complete miss -- placing him 27th with the pistol and fifth overall; had this been considered otherwise, he would have placed first overall.
He volunteered and served as aide to General Pershing during the expedition against Pancho Villa in 1916 and again in France during World War I. Between wars, Patton read. This is an important point, for Patton had been placed in charge of the newly formed American Tank Corps. Here we find peerage among many generals - Heinz Guderian, the first general to apply the principles of blitzkrieg or "combined arms doctrine" important to the rise, and fall, of Germany. But, if Heinz was the Father of Combined Arms, British General JFC Fuller was the Grandfather. This same JFC Fuller being an important colleague of the Golden Dawn and an associate of Crowley, at least for a time.
It would be impossible to assess Patton as having any relevant awareness of Thelema, or Crowley. But when one looks at his career, his words, his actions, and the principles which he served and for which he fought, one would be hard pressed to find any other possessed of such a Will as his.
Undoubtedly, Patton expressed his mind, openly and without reservation, and had a pronounced dislike for politicians and "generals who would be politicians" (upon which there is comment in Liber AL, Chapter III). To look at his military career simply leaves one amazed at the number of times, despite superior performance, he got what can only be termed "the shaft."
Units under Patton’s direct command expelled the Axis from North Africa following the sound American defeat at Kasserine Pass, after which he was given command. His unit was placed in reserve for the invasion of Sicily. British forces under Montgomery having made only a few miles of gains in two weeks, forced Patton to appeal to the Allied Command to let him attack -- and in a few short weeks, had taken two thirds of Sicily, with continued political pressure to let other "Allied Generals" take key cities first. This happened time and time again.
"Third Army came into the scene suddenly and spectacularly as they broke out of Normandy and raced across France. In Brittany, Patton’s VIII corps drove all opposition before them. They swiftly captured the important ports of St. Brieuc, Quimper, Morlaix, and Nantes. The Germans didn’t know who was in command of the Third Army, but they did know that in seven days the Third Army had stolen 10,000 square miles from their “victorious Reich,” a faster advance than any army in history. They must have suspected that it was Patton, because the Germans always held Patton in higher respect than the Americans. After all, the Third Army’s stunning advance was far faster than the German blitzkrieg."
"Not allowed to take Argentan and end the war, Patton launched the Third Army towards Paris. The Third Army was now over 350 miles long and 120 miles wide. She straddled France while she waged war in four directions at once, attacking everywhere. In the north in Brittany, the Third Army was attacking Brest and several other fortress cities. Along the Loire, from Nantes to Orleans, it was holding 200 miles of open flank for all the northern Allied Armies. And on its 120-mile Seine front, the Third was enveloping Paris, holding a bridgehead and interdicting the river north of the capital, conducting an aggressive war of movement and carving out bridgeheads south of the city. Yet all these audacious, spectacular, and unmatched achievements were accomplished by an army only three weeks in action."
Third Army was instrumental in sealing the Falaise Pocket, but was again halted by Eisenhower who insisted that Montgomery be allowed to finish the job - and which ultimately led to numerous Axis divisions escaping to fight again later in the Ardennes Offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. Here again, Patton was kept in reserve, and was purposely deprived of ammunition and gasoline for his audacity and outspoken politically incorrect views. The Allies were effectively forced to give Patton the supplies he demanded, and in three days, Patton had shifted the entirety of Third Army some 150 miles, in the middle of winter, to relieve the American 101st Airborne at Bastogne, and ultimately kill or capture the majority of the Axis offensive operation. Every American general considered this impossible.
Patton’s wartime exploits go practically unmatched. Regarded as an eccentric, we can recall the movie in which George C. Scott portrays Patton standing on a hill overlooking a valley reminiscing about a previous life as a Roman soldier. Outspoken especially against the Soviets, he spoke out against Allied Commanders and spoke pragmatically and idealistically against many politically motivated decisions. He predicted the Ardennes Offensive before it happened and no one listened to him. He predicted how the Soviets would handle Eastern Europe, and no one listened. Patton’s Third Army was sent to clear Austria - and it turned out to be empty, and he then went on to liberate Austria and Czechoslovakia, as far and as fast as he could, ultimately to be relieved of command for overstepping orders in conjunction with inflammatory remarks made against the Soviets.
By the time the shooting stopped in Europe, Patton's army had inflicted more than 1,500,000 casualties against the German enemy. The only time Patton ever slowed down was when his 3rd Army liberated the Nazi Concentration camp at Buchenwald. When he saw what the Germans had done to the Jews and Gypsies of Europe he was so disgusted that he immediately enacted a strict policy forcing all German citizens in neighboring cities and towns to tour the camps to witness the result of their hateful nationalism. Other generals adopted Patton's policy upon liberating other concentration camps.
Later, in acting as a military governor he spoke of other violations of principle, "Today we received orders . . . in which we were told to give the Jews special accommodations. If for Jews, why not Catholics, Mormons, etc? We are also turning over to the French several hundred thousand prisoners of war to be used as slave labor in France. It is amusing to recall that we fought the Revolution in defense of the rights of man and the Civil War to abolish slavery and have now gone back on both principles."
He spoke out many times when it was unpopular to do so - against friends and foes, but mostly against politics and injustices - of favoring one group of people over another and against those whom he thought were not doing their job. His units were invariably green, and made into veteran units in a matter of short weeks and did the job of what multiple more experienced armies could not do in months.
His medals and commendations were extensive:
United States:
American Defense Service Ribbon
Distinguished Service Cross with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Distinguished Service Medal with Two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Navy)
One Silver Star
Three Bronze Stars
Legion of Merit
Mexican Service Badge
Purple Heart
Silver Life Saving Medal
Silver Star with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Victory medal (WWII)
Victory Medal with Four Bronze Stars (WWI)
Sons of the Revolution Medal
Great Britain:
Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Order of the British Empire
Enteur Pin of Malta
France:
Croix de Guerre of 1939 with Palm
Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star
Medal of the Legion of Honor
Medal of Verdun (WWI)
Metz Medal of Liberation (1944)
Commemorative Medal, City of Nancy
Commerative Medallion, City of Metz (1944)
Commerative Medalion Cities of Fontainebleau and Barbizon
Gourmier Pin of Morocco (French)
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor
Liberation of Tours "Patton" Medallion
Liberation Medallion, City of d'Epernay
Liberation Medallion, City of Metz (1918)
Medallion of the City of Rheims
Belgium:
Croix de Guerre of 1940 with Palm
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm
Civilian Shield
Czechoslovakia:
Military Cross
Order of the White Dragon
Luxembourg:
Croix de Guerre
Order of Adolphe of Nassau, Grand Croix
French Morocco:
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm
Russia:
Guard's Badge
Order of Koutouzov, 1st Grade
Sweden:
Commemorative Medal of the V Olympiad (1912)
Armiens, Under Officers Skola
Kunge Sodermanlands Pansarregemente (Commerative Token)
Kungl. Krigs Skolan (Commemorative Medal)
Kungl. Upplands Regemente (Commorative Token)
Vatican:
Pope Pius XII Medallion
In his letter to Harbord, Patton also revealed his own plans to fight those who were destroying the morale and integrity of the Army and endangering America's future by not opposing the growing Soviet might: "It is my present thought . . . that when I finish this job, which will be around the first of the year, I shall resign, not retire, because if I retire I will still have a gag in my mouth . . . I should not start a limited counterattack, which would be contrary to my military theories, but should wait until I can start an all-out offensive…”
On December 7th, 1945, Patton was involved in a car accident, his head hit the railing and his spinal column was separated. Shortly afterwards, Patton though barely conscious was heard to say, "That's a coincidence..." A Lieutenant nearby asked, "What's a coincidence?" To which the general responded, "I was going home tomorrow."
On December 21, 1945, General Patton died of a blood clot in his brain. It was not the way Patton wanted to die. He felt that a soldier should die from “the last bullet, of the last day, in the last battle.” The city of Luxembourg served as headquarters for General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army. General Patton is buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
I submit that General George S. Patton fully embodied the Spirit of the Warrior Tradition, on the battlefield and off - against the aggressors and against the oppressors, regardless of the uniform they wore. His numerous reprimands were rarely extended for not complying with orders on the battlefield, but for questioning unjust policies based upon political and ulterior motives and for speaking his mind, without reservation.
General JFC Fuller can be considered the leading Grandfather of Combined Arms Theory, important to us by way of his connection to Crowley and his accomplishments as an occultist in his own right. Fuller, like Patton, was frequently regarded as an eccentric by his peers and superiors. His theories gave rise to Guderian, who was a Soldier's Soldier himself, regardless of the side he fought on. Rommel, too, was of this same school and same breed as Patton -- ultimately Rommel was forced to commit suicide for his involvement in the assassination attempt on Hitler. Patton knew warfare and applied it better than anyone of his time. He expressed himself openly, unpopularly, but for the things he believed to be just.
His philosophy is simple, and the following quotes, in my opinion would stand equal to any held in Liber AL --
If everybody is thinking alike,
then somebody isn't thinking.
Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.
The object of war is not to die for your country
but to make the other bastard die for his
A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people.
Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"
By Brother Mark Dabbs
Nomination of "Old Blood & Guts" to the Order of the Maltese Cross as a Saint may border on blasphemy or be perceived in a context of extreme militancy. Nevertheless, in review of the life and career of General Patton, I can find no man or woman more inspiring in word or deed than him. I've regarded him as a hero since the age of five, and only more so now. I find it difficult to nominate any dead person as a saint for much the same reason as the Old General would, "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other poor bastard die for his." In our context, magicians and martyrs are two different breeds; magicians get the job done and live to tell about it.
Fate followed him his whole life. Growing up, Patton was dyslexic and received schooling from home to assist with his learning difficulties until the age of 11. Following high school, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute in preparation for West Point. He went onto Sweden after winning the American Military Olympics. There, he came in first in fencing against an undefeated Frenchman, the first time in American history. He placed second in swimming, and third in cross-country riding. In pistol marksmanship, witnesses claim that he put two bullets through the same hole. The judges, only required to count the number of holes counted the one and the second as a complete miss -- placing him 27th with the pistol and fifth overall; had this been considered otherwise, he would have placed first overall.
He volunteered and served as aide to General Pershing during the expedition against Pancho Villa in 1916 and again in France during World War I. Between wars, Patton read. This is an important point, for Patton had been placed in charge of the newly formed American Tank Corps. Here we find peerage among many generals - Heinz Guderian, the first general to apply the principles of blitzkrieg or "combined arms doctrine" important to the rise, and fall, of Germany. But, if Heinz was the Father of Combined Arms, British General JFC Fuller was the Grandfather. This same JFC Fuller being an important colleague of the Golden Dawn and an associate of Crowley, at least for a time.
It would be impossible to assess Patton as having any relevant awareness of Thelema, or Crowley. But when one looks at his career, his words, his actions, and the principles which he served and for which he fought, one would be hard pressed to find any other possessed of such a Will as his.
Undoubtedly, Patton expressed his mind, openly and without reservation, and had a pronounced dislike for politicians and "generals who would be politicians" (upon which there is comment in Liber AL, Chapter III). To look at his military career simply leaves one amazed at the number of times, despite superior performance, he got what can only be termed "the shaft."
Units under Patton’s direct command expelled the Axis from North Africa following the sound American defeat at Kasserine Pass, after which he was given command. His unit was placed in reserve for the invasion of Sicily. British forces under Montgomery having made only a few miles of gains in two weeks, forced Patton to appeal to the Allied Command to let him attack -- and in a few short weeks, had taken two thirds of Sicily, with continued political pressure to let other "Allied Generals" take key cities first. This happened time and time again.
"Third Army came into the scene suddenly and spectacularly as they broke out of Normandy and raced across France. In Brittany, Patton’s VIII corps drove all opposition before them. They swiftly captured the important ports of St. Brieuc, Quimper, Morlaix, and Nantes. The Germans didn’t know who was in command of the Third Army, but they did know that in seven days the Third Army had stolen 10,000 square miles from their “victorious Reich,” a faster advance than any army in history. They must have suspected that it was Patton, because the Germans always held Patton in higher respect than the Americans. After all, the Third Army’s stunning advance was far faster than the German blitzkrieg."
"Not allowed to take Argentan and end the war, Patton launched the Third Army towards Paris. The Third Army was now over 350 miles long and 120 miles wide. She straddled France while she waged war in four directions at once, attacking everywhere. In the north in Brittany, the Third Army was attacking Brest and several other fortress cities. Along the Loire, from Nantes to Orleans, it was holding 200 miles of open flank for all the northern Allied Armies. And on its 120-mile Seine front, the Third was enveloping Paris, holding a bridgehead and interdicting the river north of the capital, conducting an aggressive war of movement and carving out bridgeheads south of the city. Yet all these audacious, spectacular, and unmatched achievements were accomplished by an army only three weeks in action."
Third Army was instrumental in sealing the Falaise Pocket, but was again halted by Eisenhower who insisted that Montgomery be allowed to finish the job - and which ultimately led to numerous Axis divisions escaping to fight again later in the Ardennes Offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. Here again, Patton was kept in reserve, and was purposely deprived of ammunition and gasoline for his audacity and outspoken politically incorrect views. The Allies were effectively forced to give Patton the supplies he demanded, and in three days, Patton had shifted the entirety of Third Army some 150 miles, in the middle of winter, to relieve the American 101st Airborne at Bastogne, and ultimately kill or capture the majority of the Axis offensive operation. Every American general considered this impossible.
Patton’s wartime exploits go practically unmatched. Regarded as an eccentric, we can recall the movie in which George C. Scott portrays Patton standing on a hill overlooking a valley reminiscing about a previous life as a Roman soldier. Outspoken especially against the Soviets, he spoke out against Allied Commanders and spoke pragmatically and idealistically against many politically motivated decisions. He predicted the Ardennes Offensive before it happened and no one listened to him. He predicted how the Soviets would handle Eastern Europe, and no one listened. Patton’s Third Army was sent to clear Austria - and it turned out to be empty, and he then went on to liberate Austria and Czechoslovakia, as far and as fast as he could, ultimately to be relieved of command for overstepping orders in conjunction with inflammatory remarks made against the Soviets.
By the time the shooting stopped in Europe, Patton's army had inflicted more than 1,500,000 casualties against the German enemy. The only time Patton ever slowed down was when his 3rd Army liberated the Nazi Concentration camp at Buchenwald. When he saw what the Germans had done to the Jews and Gypsies of Europe he was so disgusted that he immediately enacted a strict policy forcing all German citizens in neighboring cities and towns to tour the camps to witness the result of their hateful nationalism. Other generals adopted Patton's policy upon liberating other concentration camps.
Later, in acting as a military governor he spoke of other violations of principle, "Today we received orders . . . in which we were told to give the Jews special accommodations. If for Jews, why not Catholics, Mormons, etc? We are also turning over to the French several hundred thousand prisoners of war to be used as slave labor in France. It is amusing to recall that we fought the Revolution in defense of the rights of man and the Civil War to abolish slavery and have now gone back on both principles."
He spoke out many times when it was unpopular to do so - against friends and foes, but mostly against politics and injustices - of favoring one group of people over another and against those whom he thought were not doing their job. His units were invariably green, and made into veteran units in a matter of short weeks and did the job of what multiple more experienced armies could not do in months.
His medals and commendations were extensive:
United States:
American Defense Service Ribbon
Distinguished Service Cross with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Distinguished Service Medal with Two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Navy)
One Silver Star
Three Bronze Stars
Legion of Merit
Mexican Service Badge
Purple Heart
Silver Life Saving Medal
Silver Star with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Victory medal (WWII)
Victory Medal with Four Bronze Stars (WWI)
Sons of the Revolution Medal
Great Britain:
Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Order of the British Empire
Enteur Pin of Malta
France:
Croix de Guerre of 1939 with Palm
Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star
Medal of the Legion of Honor
Medal of Verdun (WWI)
Metz Medal of Liberation (1944)
Commemorative Medal, City of Nancy
Commerative Medallion, City of Metz (1944)
Commerative Medalion Cities of Fontainebleau and Barbizon
Gourmier Pin of Morocco (French)
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor
Liberation of Tours "Patton" Medallion
Liberation Medallion, City of d'Epernay
Liberation Medallion, City of Metz (1918)
Medallion of the City of Rheims
Belgium:
Croix de Guerre of 1940 with Palm
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm
Civilian Shield
Czechoslovakia:
Military Cross
Order of the White Dragon
Luxembourg:
Croix de Guerre
Order of Adolphe of Nassau, Grand Croix
French Morocco:
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm
Russia:
Guard's Badge
Order of Koutouzov, 1st Grade
Sweden:
Commemorative Medal of the V Olympiad (1912)
Armiens, Under Officers Skola
Kunge Sodermanlands Pansarregemente (Commerative Token)
Kungl. Krigs Skolan (Commemorative Medal)
Kungl. Upplands Regemente (Commorative Token)
Vatican:
Pope Pius XII Medallion
In his letter to Harbord, Patton also revealed his own plans to fight those who were destroying the morale and integrity of the Army and endangering America's future by not opposing the growing Soviet might: "It is my present thought . . . that when I finish this job, which will be around the first of the year, I shall resign, not retire, because if I retire I will still have a gag in my mouth . . . I should not start a limited counterattack, which would be contrary to my military theories, but should wait until I can start an all-out offensive…”
On December 7th, 1945, Patton was involved in a car accident, his head hit the railing and his spinal column was separated. Shortly afterwards, Patton though barely conscious was heard to say, "That's a coincidence..." A Lieutenant nearby asked, "What's a coincidence?" To which the general responded, "I was going home tomorrow."
On December 21, 1945, General Patton died of a blood clot in his brain. It was not the way Patton wanted to die. He felt that a soldier should die from “the last bullet, of the last day, in the last battle.” The city of Luxembourg served as headquarters for General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army. General Patton is buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
I submit that General George S. Patton fully embodied the Spirit of the Warrior Tradition, on the battlefield and off - against the aggressors and against the oppressors, regardless of the uniform they wore. His numerous reprimands were rarely extended for not complying with orders on the battlefield, but for questioning unjust policies based upon political and ulterior motives and for speaking his mind, without reservation.
General JFC Fuller can be considered the leading Grandfather of Combined Arms Theory, important to us by way of his connection to Crowley and his accomplishments as an occultist in his own right. Fuller, like Patton, was frequently regarded as an eccentric by his peers and superiors. His theories gave rise to Guderian, who was a Soldier's Soldier himself, regardless of the side he fought on. Rommel, too, was of this same school and same breed as Patton -- ultimately Rommel was forced to commit suicide for his involvement in the assassination attempt on Hitler. Patton knew warfare and applied it better than anyone of his time. He expressed himself openly, unpopularly, but for the things he believed to be just.
His philosophy is simple, and the following quotes, in my opinion would stand equal to any held in Liber AL --
If everybody is thinking alike,
then somebody isn't thinking.
Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.
The object of war is not to die for your country
but to make the other bastard die for his
A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people.
Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
On Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln lost 8 elections before he won one. He failed in business, he failed as a farmer, he ran for the state legislature and lost, his first wife died, and he had a nervous breakdown. When he ran for Speaker, he lost, he then ran for Congress and lost. He ran for the U.S. Senate and lost. He ran for vice president and lost. He ran for the U.S. Senate again and lost, then lost again. Finally he won the election to become President, and then country went into a Civil War.
But he was the greatest president of the U.S. and the most interesting man who ever lived, according to Robert Frost.
But he was the greatest president of the U.S. and the most interesting man who ever lived, according to Robert Frost.
Anecdote of George Patton
General George Patton who, beginning in 1942, single-handedly liberated North Africa including Morrocco and Tunisia from the Nazis and Italians, went on to liberate Sicily and Italy, and then France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the rest of the European nations until he arrived at Germany; in this process he killed 55% of the German army (1,500,000 sodiers), and took the country. On his final approach to take Berlin, he received word from his superior, General Omar Bradley, that he was not to take the German city of Trier since to take this city, he needed three divisions, and Patton had only two. So, General Bradley told Patton to hold off from taking the city of Trier, but Patton, as was his way, had already taken that city and replied to Bradley, "Have already taken Trier, do you want me to give it back?"
Taken in part from the Book: Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul Up. By James Carville and Paul Begala.
Taken in part from the Book: Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul Up. By James Carville and Paul Begala.
George Smith PATTON
Early 1943 - The North African Campaign: During the North African campaign, Major General Patton was in command of the western task force of the United States Army. Patton and his troops arrived in Morocco aboard the cruiser USS Augusta while entering the port of Casablanca. Casablanca fell within just four days of fighting. The Sultan of Morocco was so impressed that he presented Patton with the order of Ouissam Alaouite with the citation: “Les lion’s dans leurs tanieres tremblent en le voyant approacher” (The lions in their dens tremble at his approach).
On March 6, 1943, General Patton took Major General Lloyd Fredendall's place as commander of the II Corps. By mid-March, Patton, along with his troops, joined the rest of the British I Army and pushed the Germans and Italians back into a smaller portion of Tunisia. Finally, they were pushed out of North Africa by Mid-May.
Sicily Campaign: As a result of Patton’s performance during the North African Campaign, Patton received command of the Seventh Army in preparation for the 1943 invasion of Sicily. Patton formed a provisional corps under his chief of staff and swiftly pushed through Western Sicily, liberating the Capital, Palermo. After that, Patton quickly turned east toward Messenia.
Slapping incident and removal from command: While General Patton was visiting a military hospital in Sicily on August 3, 1943, he was greeting soldiers. Patton came upon a soldier that was 24 years old and his name was Charles H. Kuhl. When Patton came upon him, he was weeping. Patton asked “whats a matter with you?” The soldier replied "I can’t stand the shelling it’s my nerves". Patton burst out in rage saying much profanity and calling the soldier a coward and ordered him back to the frontline. Patton was so mad that he slapped the soldier in the back of the head.
When General Eisenhower found out about the incident, he ordered Patton to make amends and apologize to the soldier. Kuhl later found out that he had malaria. That was why his nerves were acting up, and that was the reason that he was suffering. Patton personally apologized to the soldier at Patton Headquarters and did not know that the soldier had malaria. Charles H. Kuhl died on January 24, 1971 from natural causes.
Normandy: Patton was placed in command of the third army following the Normandy Invasion, which was on the far west of the allied forces landing. He led this army in the late stages of Operation Cobra. The third army simultaneously attacked west, south, east toward Seine, and north. Patton used Germany's own blitzkrieg tactics. The third army covered more than 60 miles in just 2 weeks from Avranches to Argentan.
Lorraine: General Patton’s offense came to a halt on August 31, 1944 as the third army literally ran out of gas next to the Mosselle River just outside of Metz, France. Patton expected that the Theater commander would keep fuel and supplies coming to help the successful advantages.
Patton’s experience suggested that a major U.S. and Allied advantage was in mobility. This lead to more numbers of U.S. trucks, U.S. tanks, and better radio communication. In October and November, the third army was in a full on battle with the Germans with heavy casualties on both sides. However on November 23, Metz finally fell to the Americans. This was the first time the city had been taken since the Franco-Prussian war in 1870.
Battle of the Bulge: In 1944, the German army launched a last ditch offensive across Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France popularly as the Battle of the Bulge. On December 16, 1944 the German army massed 29 divisions at a weak point in the allied lines and made massive headways toward the Muese River. Patton turned the third army, disengaging the 3rd army from the front line of the German forces and besieged the 101st airborne Division.
General Patton's Legacy
In the end General Patton left his mark on U.S. history by being one of the most decorated Generals of every one of the other wars throughout history.
General Patton got the right to go command the highly commended Third army who with General Patton captured or conquered a total of 82,000 square miles of German territory during World War II that was used as German outposts and a few generals in Germany.
Patton's Third Army inflicted a shocking total of 55% of all Germans killed, wounded, or captured This means more than half of the German army was killed, wounded, or captured by the Third Army with General Patton at its head. When the United States of America needed a strong driven leader There was only one man for the job and that was General Patton.
On March 6, 1943, General Patton took Major General Lloyd Fredendall's place as commander of the II Corps. By mid-March, Patton, along with his troops, joined the rest of the British I Army and pushed the Germans and Italians back into a smaller portion of Tunisia. Finally, they were pushed out of North Africa by Mid-May.
Sicily Campaign: As a result of Patton’s performance during the North African Campaign, Patton received command of the Seventh Army in preparation for the 1943 invasion of Sicily. Patton formed a provisional corps under his chief of staff and swiftly pushed through Western Sicily, liberating the Capital, Palermo. After that, Patton quickly turned east toward Messenia.
Slapping incident and removal from command: While General Patton was visiting a military hospital in Sicily on August 3, 1943, he was greeting soldiers. Patton came upon a soldier that was 24 years old and his name was Charles H. Kuhl. When Patton came upon him, he was weeping. Patton asked “whats a matter with you?” The soldier replied "I can’t stand the shelling it’s my nerves". Patton burst out in rage saying much profanity and calling the soldier a coward and ordered him back to the frontline. Patton was so mad that he slapped the soldier in the back of the head.
When General Eisenhower found out about the incident, he ordered Patton to make amends and apologize to the soldier. Kuhl later found out that he had malaria. That was why his nerves were acting up, and that was the reason that he was suffering. Patton personally apologized to the soldier at Patton Headquarters and did not know that the soldier had malaria. Charles H. Kuhl died on January 24, 1971 from natural causes.
Normandy: Patton was placed in command of the third army following the Normandy Invasion, which was on the far west of the allied forces landing. He led this army in the late stages of Operation Cobra. The third army simultaneously attacked west, south, east toward Seine, and north. Patton used Germany's own blitzkrieg tactics. The third army covered more than 60 miles in just 2 weeks from Avranches to Argentan.
Lorraine: General Patton’s offense came to a halt on August 31, 1944 as the third army literally ran out of gas next to the Mosselle River just outside of Metz, France. Patton expected that the Theater commander would keep fuel and supplies coming to help the successful advantages.
Patton’s experience suggested that a major U.S. and Allied advantage was in mobility. This lead to more numbers of U.S. trucks, U.S. tanks, and better radio communication. In October and November, the third army was in a full on battle with the Germans with heavy casualties on both sides. However on November 23, Metz finally fell to the Americans. This was the first time the city had been taken since the Franco-Prussian war in 1870.
Battle of the Bulge: In 1944, the German army launched a last ditch offensive across Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France popularly as the Battle of the Bulge. On December 16, 1944 the German army massed 29 divisions at a weak point in the allied lines and made massive headways toward the Muese River. Patton turned the third army, disengaging the 3rd army from the front line of the German forces and besieged the 101st airborne Division.
General Patton's Legacy
In the end General Patton left his mark on U.S. history by being one of the most decorated Generals of every one of the other wars throughout history.
General Patton got the right to go command the highly commended Third army who with General Patton captured or conquered a total of 82,000 square miles of German territory during World War II that was used as German outposts and a few generals in Germany.
Patton's Third Army inflicted a shocking total of 55% of all Germans killed, wounded, or captured This means more than half of the German army was killed, wounded, or captured by the Third Army with General Patton at its head. When the United States of America needed a strong driven leader There was only one man for the job and that was General Patton.
On Risk
People who live comfortably and on the safe side of risk, which is most people, will never know of the great enthusiasm that comes from winning nor of the pain that comes from losing or failing. But in order to win in life, you must take risks.
Sir Isaac Newton
One of his most profound discoveries was that, "Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion, and bodies that are static tend to stay static."
Tracy and Herb Kelleher
Herb Kelleher, probably the best CEO of all time according to Fortune Magazine, was told by Tracy from the Marketing Department at Southwest Airlines, that her surveys indicated that the passengers might enjoy a light entreé on the Houston to Las Vegas flight. Since all the airline offers is peanuts, she thinks a nice chicken Caesar salad would be popular on that flight. Herb replied, "Tracy, will adding that chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare airline from Houston to Texas? Because if it doesn't help us become the unchallenged low-fare airline, we're not serving any damn chicken salad."
FOCUS on STRATEGY, and on the OBJECTIVE.
Taken from the book "Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul Up" by James Carville and Paul Begala.
FOCUS on STRATEGY, and on the OBJECTIVE.
Taken from the book "Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul Up" by James Carville and Paul Begala.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Why go to the Moon
"But why, some say, 'The moon,' why choose this as our goal, and they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain, why 35 years ago fly the Atlantic, why does Rice play Texas, we choose to go to the moon (applause) we choose to go to the moon (applause) we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others too."
JFK, 1962, Houston, Texas.
JFK, 1962, Houston, Texas.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
On J.F.K.
Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., upon speaking to the Assembly 4 days after JFK was killed:
“My dear colleagues, my priviledge in this sad hour is to convey to you Mr. President, to you Mr. Secretary General, and to you the assembled delegates of the world community the profound gratitude of the people of my country for what has been done and for what has been said here today. Our grief is the more bearable because it is so widely and so genuinely shared, and for this we can only say, simply, but from the depths of our full hearts, thank you.”
“President Kennedy was so contemporary a man, so involved in our world, so immersed in our times, so responsive to its challenges, so intense a participant in the great events and the great decisions of our day that he seemed very simple - of the vitality and the exhuberance that is the essence of life itself. Never once did he lose his way in the maze, never once did he falter in the storm of spears, never once was he intimidated. Like the ancient profets, he loved the people enough to warn them of their errors, and the man who loves his country best, will hold it to its highest standards. He made us proud to be Americans.”
“We shall not soon forget that he held fast to the vision of a world in which the peace is secure, in which inevitable conflicts are reconciled by pacific means, in which nations devote their energies to the welfare of all their citizens, and in which the vast and colorful diversity of human society can flourish in a restless competitive search for a better society.”
“And we shall never forget, these ambitions, these visions, these convictions that so inspired this remarkable young man and so quickened the quality and the tempo of our times in these fleeting past 3 years, and our grief is compounded by the bitter irony that he who gave his all to contain violence, lost his all to violence, now he is gone, today we mourn him, tomorrow and tomorrow we shall miss him, and so we shall never know how different the world might have been had fate permitted this blazing talent to live and labor longer at man’s unfinished agenda for peace and progress for all.”
“My dear colleagues, my priviledge in this sad hour is to convey to you Mr. President, to you Mr. Secretary General, and to you the assembled delegates of the world community the profound gratitude of the people of my country for what has been done and for what has been said here today. Our grief is the more bearable because it is so widely and so genuinely shared, and for this we can only say, simply, but from the depths of our full hearts, thank you.”
“President Kennedy was so contemporary a man, so involved in our world, so immersed in our times, so responsive to its challenges, so intense a participant in the great events and the great decisions of our day that he seemed very simple - of the vitality and the exhuberance that is the essence of life itself. Never once did he lose his way in the maze, never once did he falter in the storm of spears, never once was he intimidated. Like the ancient profets, he loved the people enough to warn them of their errors, and the man who loves his country best, will hold it to its highest standards. He made us proud to be Americans.”
“We shall not soon forget that he held fast to the vision of a world in which the peace is secure, in which inevitable conflicts are reconciled by pacific means, in which nations devote their energies to the welfare of all their citizens, and in which the vast and colorful diversity of human society can flourish in a restless competitive search for a better society.”
“And we shall never forget, these ambitions, these visions, these convictions that so inspired this remarkable young man and so quickened the quality and the tempo of our times in these fleeting past 3 years, and our grief is compounded by the bitter irony that he who gave his all to contain violence, lost his all to violence, now he is gone, today we mourn him, tomorrow and tomorrow we shall miss him, and so we shall never know how different the world might have been had fate permitted this blazing talent to live and labor longer at man’s unfinished agenda for peace and progress for all.”
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Henry Ford Quotes
When Henry Ford died in 1947, at the age of 84, he had over 1 billion 400 thousand dollars that had to be parted among his descendants.
Some of his most famous sayings were:
We must know a little about a lot, unlike those who work for us, who a know a lot about few subjects.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.
Henry Ford
Some of his most famous sayings were:
We must know a little about a lot, unlike those who work for us, who a know a lot about few subjects.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.
Henry Ford
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Thinking at XEROX
"We are a company which pays a premium on imagination and the use of creativity and the use of brains to think of new ideas. We don't want to do things the same old way, we suspect the same old way. Therefore as you come here, I hope you come with an attitude that change will be a way of life for you, you will not be doing things tomorrow the way you are doing them today, and if you do, we will feel that some way or other the momentum that has taken years and years to build up is perhaps slowing down and I assure you we'll bend every effort we know how to keep it from slowing down. Therefore we are seeking people who are willing to accept risk, who are willing to try new ideas, who have new ideas of their own, who are not affraid to change what they are doing from one day to the next or one year to the next, who welcome new challenges, who welcome new people, who welcome new positions, and if you are that sort of person, you'll be very welcome here at Xerox." Joe Wilson, CEO, XEROX Corporation 1960's.
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