Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Dear Readers, Our Format Explained

Dear Readers,

Mike's Vacation will be publishing regular travelogue and political/economic editorial.

Each Issue will be be accompanied by a YouTube.com hosted video attachment.

The video portion of each issue will be a summarized version of each article. If the viewer desires to read the script for our issue, he will then have access to our in depth article as well as our bibliography.

There are many viewers who do not have time to read a complex article and attached bibliography. This is why we will be summarizing all of our articles in a video format.

This same format will be used for all articles being either Travel, Politics, or Industry.

Thank You,
Michael Miller

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

THE LAST OF THE COOL PEOPLE-- A LOST AND TROUBLED GENERATION

I graduated high school in 1986. I attended a small Midwestern high school, not unlike many others of its day.

I believe that your most formative years are your years in high school. That is when your character is cemented.

Your trials and tribulations during this period are the training grounds for how all the remainder of your life's challenges will be met.

At the end of the eighties, we had real problems facing us. For one thing, we had all just recently survived the farm crash, the factory crash, and a giant recession. I remember the county I lived in had endured a trough of unemployment of 27%.

We also lived with the daily threat of total annihilating nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Every day our evening news was watched for information about our "enemy" who legitimately had the strength to deal us such a heavy nuclear blow that we would not ever fully recover.

Aids was also a burgeoning threat, there were no miracle cocktails, and there was little correct information at hand over what was likely to spread it and what wasn't. ( beyond mere blood and body fluid precautions) It was assumed that a single encounter with an "aids infected" or "HIV infected" woman would automatically lead to an aids death months later.

It seems that our two worlds (east and west) were kept in balance by the other. Our world of western privilege and advantage was a plate spinning on a stick, only kept in alignment by our nemesis' similar counter-rotating world.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, their world crumbled, and their own spinning plate of a universe bounded off into their own never land across the ocean, essentially unable to provide the political balance to our own world.

Our world of righteous beauty and plenty began to accelerate in political rotation until we also quickly became a "tilted universe" unto ourselves.

Everything we knew about good and bad, right and wrong fast became passe'. It seems we have left our own stable and logical world behind, only to live in a new and sick cartoon like plane of existence.

Our modern world resembles to me a "roger rabbit" like "toon town" of a dimension. The personal encounters of my daily life seem "fake and animated" and "unreal".

I am living in this tilted universe, this fake, creepy cartoon like dimension with only my 1986 character and strength to guide me and help me survive.

The children and young adults of our modern age, have not known any other plane of existence, and can't imagine what our "real world" was like. There is a serious generation gap between anyone that graduated from high school in or before 1986 and our chronological descendants.

America before the Soviet Collapse was both a gentler and more sophisticated time. We didn't have the large scale social decay or the Orwellian eye blinders of modern false liberalism to imprison us as our modern young people experience.

I have included a few 80's era music videos for you to enjoy, maybe it will take you back to your original dimension. Maybe for a few seconds you too can remember who you were when you had the promise of the future, and a little bit of your own innocence remaining.

Mike's Vacation
Indy- 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14IRDDnEPR4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4J4M6BXDLs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78pQOkLTdFo

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Patriotic War

May 9 commemorates the victory by the Soviet Peoples of the Patriotic War.

Mikes Vacation feels great reverence for this monumental occasion.

We would like to honor the Soviets who survived and died during this horrible war.

It would be possible to present hundreds of hours of video for these same Soviets.

It would be possible to write thousands of words to honor their memories.

But today, we will honor their memories by a simple and succinct video posting.

We believe that Russian President Medvedev's message will be a correct message for Mikes Vacation to endorse, and publish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQn8Oyhu5ZA

Monday, May 4, 2009

Its About F@#%ing Time!!

Well somebody in this country has finally grown some balls and gotten their sense back when it comes to unruly children. http://www.newsweek.com/id/195119?Gt1=43002

Mikes Vacation is naturally against "child abuse". However we are worldly enough to make a distinction between good old fashioned discipline, and "abuse".

Mikes Vacation also believes that our national movement against parents and schools spanking kids was started by the pharmaceutical manufactures that make drugs such as "Ritalin".

When it becomes illegal to spank your kids, the only method to control them is to drug them. Hence our recent industry of drugging kids with mood and behavior altering drugs to get them to behave, as opposed to augmenting positive re-enforcement with a good whipping from time to time.

A good friend of Mikes Vacation has proposed very strong and through arguments against the corporal punishment of children. He contends that the only time a child needs to be whipped, or spanked is when a parent has failed in their duties to teach and monitor a child. He contends that violence begets violence, and that statistics have shown that violence and abuse has been a major contributory factor to the millions of citizens now incarcerated in our jails and prisons.

The man making this argument to Mikes Vacation is a highly educated, and intelligent man. His opinions are not to be taken lightly. While sometimes he is wrong, it is not usually in matters of science. His opinions in the areas of human behavior are frequently correct, but not absolutely so. Needless to say he is credible enough to have his opinions take very seriously.

What has happened to our country in the past 30-40 years in the general area of gentility, or lack of it, could be likened to a power vacuum.

For a long time in America we had a problem with a very few "exotic" cases of child abuse being far and away beyond what could be construed as "discipline" or even "harsh discipline". We had a situation where a mentally or emotionally unstable parent could abuse a child at will, with virtually no recourse.

During the Late sixties and early seventies the hippie movement's use of mind altering drugs, and Hollywood's unveiling of films portraying children as "evil" or "possessed" led to an unprecedented string of "exotic abuse/murder" cases of children being killed by their emotionally unstable parents.

During this same time period Americas began to become even more mobile and transient in regards to their geographic locale than ever before.

This set the stage for public outcry against "abuse of children". Mikes Vacation is against the abuse of children. We naturally endorse the gentle and patient rearing of children.

However what has become of our well meaning movement to "not abuse" children has not been effectively replaced our old standard methods of spanking kids when they needed it.

Let me explain a little further. Prior to 1970 or so, virtually all of America was raised in the same general fashion. Disrespect to parents, teachers, and elders was a universally accepted taboo. Violating this taboo led to corporal punishment. As a general rule, this didn't lead to death, torture, or prison, it just led to a sassy kid getting whipped and brought back into line.

Since we have entered the period of criminalizing the spanking of children, we have not entered into what I would call the "pseudo-Utopian intellectual period" of child rearing.

Mikes Vacation tends to agree with the gentleman who believes that children could very well be raised without ever spanking them, and that two intelligent intellectuals with all the time in the world to supervise their child could raise a prodigy, without ever raising their hand once to that same child. Mikes Vacation both agrees with this "concept" and we like the idea of it.

HOWEVER: This modern forward thinking model of child rearing is not likely to be adopted in America anytime soon. The fact is that we are a country of very average people. These same people are too tired, too simple, and often too sub-collegiate to be able to function as "cerebral and educated" non-violent parents.

As a result of the criminalization of parents "spanking" children when necessary and the lack of a "universally implemented " non-violent model for child rearing our nations children have been raised in a "power vacuum" where they have been allowed to turn into little, and now large monsters.

The only method left to parents is to take their child to a psychiatrist and get "drugs" prescribed to help control unruly behavior. Is this our American dream, a nation of chemically restrained children? Is this better than an occasional whipping? I don't think so.

Who profits from our modern child abuse laws? Children as a group do not profit from being allowed to grow up without respect and consequences for their actions. Parents do not profit from suffering delinquent and unruly kids. Society itself doesn't profit from having our newest generation imbibe on pills to control their behavior. Perhaps there are some children in our country who don't die of abuse because of our new laws against the spanking of kids.

How do we quantify the days, months and years of our nations youth lost to reform school and ultimately jail because of their unchecked delinquency and emotional maladjustment? Is this not a price of our reliance on behavior altering drugs as opposed to an occasional whipping?

But lets consider for a moment who actually profits from a national policy criminalizing the spanking of our children. THE DRUG COMPANIES PROFIT!!!!!

THE DRUG COMPANIES ARE BEHIND THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO "PROTECT CHILDREN FROM ABUSE"!!!!!

Mikes Vacation believes that it will ultimately be proven that Drug Companies have financed the lobbying of our politicians to criminalized the corporal punishment of kids. They are the sole entities that have profited from our modern "no-spank" model of child rearing.

In summary, America had a very effective child rearing model up to the early seventies. We built a society that raised industries, and won wars, we engendered generations of heros, intellectuals and artists. The bulk of all that is great about America was raised under this model.

Our current model of drug pushing, and no spanking will not breed great men. It will only produce slackers with no souls.

We as a society need to construct a model, at least as productive as the one used to make this nation great. We need to be wary of the predators that would abuse this new model, predators such as drug companies and crooked politicians.

You can't replace a system that has been effective for 300, 500, or even 5000 years with something dreamed up in the marketing office of a drug company.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Time for Some Study and Reflection on Communism

Here at Mikes Vacation we enjoy viewing the kinds of videos you see posted below. We believe that it is good for the reader/s to review some of the source documents, persons, and manifestos that brought our beloved Soviet Union into being.

Mikes Vacation doesn't believe the Soviet Union was perfect, but we do believe she was grand and should be remembered with respect, and she should be studied for the lessons of her failures as well as for her successes.

Please enjoy our video compilation on Communism, Karl Marx, and the Communist Manifesto. In America, as well as the world, all we have is time. Mikes Vacation believes it is OK to remember the foundations of our grand Soviet Union's philosophies.

Communism Ruleshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2NGzpV8bD4&feature=related

Lecture on Karl Marx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoZp177HDJ8

The Relevance of Karl Marxhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rldJqYIp0Y&feature=related

Karl Marx Biographyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VkjxyxktRs&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 1/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EMqMgx03iM&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 2/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmIGL13GXo&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 3/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkk-EXxorM&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 4/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX_f7VsyP0Y&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 5/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwPY6n8I8M4&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 6/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4kzAQNUHZ0&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 7/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYCO1tuEKWE&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 8/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ftwayZnL0&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 9/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Setz1lj-9k&feature=related

Communist Manifesto 10/10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paELtIwYOtk&feature=related

VASILY GORIN-- RUSSIAN HERO!!!!

Here is a short documentary describing the idyllic conditions on a Russian collective dairy farm.
The lives of the workers are excellent, life should be this good in the rest of Russia, or for that matter, America and the world!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoeLA_bzvMw&feature=channel

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Erroneous Juxtaposition Impedes Democracy

I am interested in Soviet Era history as well as current events in Russia and Belarus. When I discuss any subject relating to the Soviets, or modern Russia I frequently hear disparaging remarks about Stalin, Putin, and Lukashenka.

I am a supporter of Putin, and Lukashenka, and a student of Stalin. I don't feel I know enough about Soviet issues and history to make final determinations about the character of Joseph Stalin.

It is very easy to attack a dead man. It is very easy to attack a man whose ideas are "out of fashion".

Mikes Vacation believes that Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union to many successes, and he allowed for many sacrifices to achieve the same.

We must stop attacking heads of state without empirical and well thought evidence of their failure.

Attacks upon Joseph Stalin have traditionally been vehicles for sub-democratic policies here in America. When Stalin is referenced, his failures are juxtaposed against the speakers favored ideas. Frequently this is done to insight an emotional response on the part of the listener. When successful this can only allow a "new idea" or "inspirational thought" to not be scrutinized completely. This allows for "sub-standard" ideas to sometimes flourish. If done on a grand or national scale, this prevents the public from fully contemplating these ideas, and undermines the foundation of democracy: CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF IDEAS.

Anyone who advocates an empirical examination of the debated facts at hand is assumed to be fond of Stalin's wrongdoings.

The Soviet Union did achieve some success during Stalin's tenure. Can we not learn something from these victories that is useful here in America?

When a politician or leader juxtaposes an idea he is supports with Soviet Era failures, the American public should have screaming Klaxon Horns going off in their minds alerting them to think carefully about what they are hearing.

I have included some media that attack and flatter Stalin. You will see both the glory and horror of Soviet bygone days.

You will also please note there are two attachments about the United States. They expose our glory, and our poverty. (only a fraction of glory and problems)

These media are not intended to present an exact chronological comparison of the two countries. It is not possible to compare the Soviet Union with the United States at virtually any specific time period and be able to make an "apples to apples " comparison. This is because our two countries were in different conditions at different times owing to war, industrial development, literacy, etc.

However, if comparisons are made allowing for these developmental differences you can see that in our limelight and glory America still had problems.

Is it not possible for the Soviet Union to have had some "limelight" to go along with her problems?

Glory to Stalin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ScChTcCag

Joseph Stalin and Communist crimeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBvEUiU5-ZI

Soviet People and Their Liveshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwPG-HstVEg&feature=related

Kolymahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J8mFAhHDC4&feature=related

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT'S "D-DAY PRAYER TO THE NATION" (JUNE 6,1944) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7YZtCViLt8

The Dirty '30s: poverty in a nutshellhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx_OM3AZoIc