Interviewing Ollie
Spent yesterday with Ollie North, and as with every other time I spent time with him, I’m always struck by how much wisdom he spews just in casual conversation. But, as I spend today going through the audio file from the interview (and there will be video later on) I wanted to share two quotes that really hit me hard in the solar plexus.
“When they [his grandkids] turn 12, I give them three things and a note. The three things are: a compass, a bible, and a shotgun. And I tell them in the note, if you learn to use all three, and it has to be all three, you’ll never be lost, you’ll never be hungry, and you need fear nothing.”
“If you can’t enjoy what you’re doing; if you’re not taking pleasure in what you’re doing; if you’re not in some way enthusing someone else about what they could do; you’re kind of wasting God’s good air I think. Hopefully I’ve been able to do that over the years.”
Anyway, I owed you guys a post since I have been out. But I loved those quotes and wanted to share them.
Category: Politics
@48- If you look at the quote you’ll see that the bible is what’s keeping you from going hungry and the shotgun is so you’ll fear nothing.
I’ll admit i was being snarky on the compass. Though the idea that a compass and map will forever keep you from getting lost is not most folks experience.
@47- the point is that there are limitations of the kinds of speech or publications you can buy and transmit. I can’t sell or transmit instructions on how to build an atomic bomb, or security arangements for the President, or state secrets etc. Speech is not unlimited, no matter how you convey it.
I have to say, even though I know who’s in the picture, my first impression was why is goalie Tim Thomas talking to Oliver North?
STOP …….. The compass is for navigating life and to help you stay on your moral course. In the Navy and Marines we use the compass for character correction. Oh … knowing how to use a magnetic compass could easily save your life!
The bible is for teaching the love of God, learning biblical history, understanding parables, and to instill NO FEAR OF EVIL!
And the shot gun is a symbbol of self reliance.
North … a Marine knows exactly what he meant by this expression, which by the way, I believe is thoughtful and quite special, considering the audience … his grand kids!
@52: And I, like most everyone else here, read it and understood things correctly without pedanticly arguing the order in which things were listed.
If I’m having a casual conversation with a friend who is going to the store and ask for him to pick me up ‘something to eat and a new wrench’, and he asks what kind, and I say, “Oh,.. a hex bolt and maybe a Big Mac?”, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think I’m going to eat the hex bolt and spend time looking for a Big Mac wrench.
This is one situation where you should just admit you goofed, go back to arguing North’s character instead of his advice, and move on. And the bit about the compass? Advice usually isn’t literal, it’s metaphorical. ‘Learn how to know where you are and where you’re going (and when you’re going the wrong way)’ is good advice for people, especially kids.
Hmmm, i’ve never owned any of these items and somehow i’ve gone my whole life without comitting any felonies. Ollie can’t say the same.
Try living in a part of the country where ANY electronic device can go “bleeeep” and dark at almost any time, and you’ll see how many of us still carry maps and compasses.
@56. You may honestly be the first “anonymous” around here who made any sense. My appreciation. I get some folks not liking Ollie, or wanting to bust chops on his conviction that was overturned etc, but to not get that he just mentally transfused the results is idiocy.
Out of all the people in all the world who can read and have basic comprehension, only one person on the entire Earth — probably in the entire Universe, and not counting Skeletor — only one person got Ollie’s context bass ackwards.
Congratulations, spiffy, you dumb,stump-sucking dolt, you just proved that being intentionally dimwitted isn’t as hard as it seems!
Oh, yeah, maps and compasses have been around for millenia. The Romans, Phoenicians and Vikings all used a rudimentary compass called a lodestone, floating in a bowl of water, always pointed dead north. Maps — even the Babylonians had maps, you dumb fuck. The Greeks even had an astrolabe, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of a working bronze astrolabe recovered from the Mediterranean floor a few years ago. It’s used for navigation on the ocean. The Vikings also navigated by the pole star Polaris, and by the use of a mineral called the sunstone, another rudimentary compass.
Maps and compasses have kept people finding their way around the world for thousands of years, LONG before the invention of the battery-driven global positioning system.
If some idiot can’t read a map or figure out that the compass needle always points NORTH!, and still gets lost, it’s a personal problem called — this may be something you’re familiar with — STUPIDITY.
The GPS system — the number of stories of people getting completely lost by relying on that piece of crap technology are becoming LEGENDARY. My favorite is the guy who wound up on a goat track in the Swiss Alps two years ago, and had to call for help to get his car out. Again, the STUPIDITY factor checks in.
But then, I’ve also known people who, like Spiffy, are so dense that they couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag with a map, a compass, a flashlight and an open door.
@56- But this wasn’t casual conversation, it was well thought out advice to his grand-kids. The order in which he gave them was the way he wanted it considered. Plus even assuming he screwed up the order, why would the bible cause you te be fearless? Even Christ showed fear. So did Moses in fact.
HEY TSO!
“There are no lands to the west!”
@61 – Not even a vaguely good rebuttal. Weak. Lame. Loser.
Sippy … I am reporting you to my Rabbi buddy. You are off the charts on this one. But I still like you … because I have pity and empathy for you … ah (the bible taught me that)!
Many of you seem to be suggesting that we should not consider the fact that he actually DID do illegal activities when evaluating his character. It’s not like he was convicted and later proven innocent. The man did the acts and got off because the State overstepped its bounds. It’s fine that he got off, but it’s also fair to say the guy’s a dishonest asshole for committing the acts.
Again, i find OJ a deplorable human being despite what the jury said. You all seem to be suggesting that the ONLY thing i should consider when evaluating OJ, the man, is his football career.
Yes, Oliver North got off. He still comitted the acts and he is still a despicable human being.
@59: Ha. I wouldn’t be surprised if prior anonymous postings of mine have been labeled as non-sensical by most here. We’re typically on opposing ideological sides when it comes to politics, so we see things somewhat differently.
In this particular case, though, I agree – Insipid is being a little nuts. Even if the words weren’t transposed, it’s still fine. Most people figure it out pretty quickly.
Are equating North to OJ?
BTW … if shit was breaking out forward and aft … port and starboard, I would what an Oliver North next to me!
Sippy … would you?
cratch what –> insert want
COB6 – Here, there be dragons!!!
@61: This was casual conversation with TSO, was it not? And, as I said above, even if the order he actually gives the advice is exactly what it was when he relayed the story to TSO, who cares? It’s still quite clear what he meant, much like my hex wrench & hamburger story.
As for the Bible, I’m inclined to think that if you truly believe that an all-powerful and loving being is looking down on you and keeping you safe from harm, you’d find less reason to fear things. We’re all human and generally all experience fear at SOME point, but that might reduce it to a great degree. Like you, I’m not religious, but surely you can see how someone with faith can feel that way?
You’re clearly smart enough to understand all this, though, so I’m inclined to think you’re just used to coming here and arguing vehemently every single point. You’ve lost the battle when you’re reduced to arguing against minor points, from a particular mindset, as opposed to arguing the overall theme. Surely we can agree that self-reliance and living without fear are decent ideals to aspire to?
There is no arguing with a “sexual intellectual”, aka a fucking know-it-all. Not only do they know everything in the universe they can interpret the meaning of any gesture or gift given by anyone on earth and question it’s wisdom.
For those of you thinking a Lt Colonel working as an aide to the State Department can make multi-million dollar arms and hostage deals on his own I have tickets to an Artic cruise in Arizona for sale.
Going by your “logic” i guess i would say OJ. OJ was found not guilty. Ollie was guilty but had it thrown out because the state exceeded its authority.
Not that i’d have anything to do with either of those miscreants.
COB, that has to be the most obtuse reference I’ve ever seen….
@72, see @70. You have NO argument. Deal with it.
#73 and EX-PH2
Let’s not get caught in the ramblings of a juvenile.
We have an EPIC BEARD to mock!
It’s like the hair on his head has fallen to his face 🙂
Who knew they had relaxed grooming standards for lawyers?
COB6 – I SO want to see the beard in either a full evening dress suit, complete with waistcoat, shirt studs, a large brandy and a cigar OR full regimentals, complete to a shade, of the 95th Rifles from the Peninsular Wars, again with a large brandy, a cigar and a sword.
@75 That beard would make an epic rug on my floor, complete with fangs and claws!
@75 You want to turn this thread into mocking someone’s appearance and I’M the juvenile?
*sigh* He’s as bad as Joe. Where’d you leave that rolled up newspaper, Sparky?
Insipid, TSO is a personal friend of Jonn’s, and admired by everyone here. We’re teasing him, not MOCKING him. We actually LIKE his beard.
Spiffy, you’re so stupid, you don’t even know you’re alive.
@79- and juveniles are known to tease their friends to. Certainly mocking someone’s beard- good naturedly or not- is considered more juvenile then pointing out that someone committed felonious behavior.
@81 Nothing, particularly covert ops, exists in a vacuum. That is what Col. North was involved in, and it was understood from the start, that if the sh*t hit the fan, the major players weren’t going to jail — operators were. That’s the way the game is played, and that’s what happened. Col. North knew what he was doing and he knew what the price would be if it came to light. He kept his mouth shut and went to jail.
You do understand the layers and layers and layers that exist in and around the poltical sphere, don’t you? The dark shadows and smoke and mirrors that are found in the interface between the politicians, the military, and the intelligence community? That there is a fine line between serving your country and breaking the law? And that all three, at any given time, do both?
Insipid, I don’t necessarily disagree that there was a character flaw that allowed him to participate in acts which were clearly enumerated as being illegal. Again I don’t call him a hero, but I do like him for his toughness and his willingness to let the sh1t hit the fan because he was guilty. I can respect that, I might not agree with how he got there but I can respect how he handles himself afterwards. The problem for me with the entire Iran Contra is that folks assume a Colonel was acting in a vacuum to singlehandedly violate the law. What I am suggesting is that in reality there were far more decision makers above him approving and guiding him, especially the head of the CIA. These were the movers and shakers with the logistical connections to implement this plan. North may have brought the plan to them, or he may have upgraded a suggestion into this plan. I’m not confident that I know the actual reality there. Nor am I’m not suggesting he was railroaded, I’m suggesting he admitted guilt because there was no point in continuing a ruse. Bill Clinton was a man who got caught and lied about getting caught, many people still think quite highly of him and disregard the adultery and consequent denials (lies) about the activities along with the dubious explanations regarding the financing of certain real estate deals and previous serial adultering. Complex, motivated people as are we all don’t always behave as we would like them to. It doesn’t mean we can’t respect the aspect of their service or their work that was a benefit while understanding that they f#cked up in a serious fashion in other aspects of that service or work. I believe in the balance North was better for the nation than not. Others are certainly free to disagree. I think Clinton’s infidelities were not something to be lied about or when caught impeached about, and I do respect his getting budgets passed by working with the Republicans. That’s a level of bipartisan cooperation we have not seen… Read more »
@ Sippy … Oh now TSO’s beard.
Well my friend, I believe you could never grow a beard like TSO. In fact, you bringing the beard in to the fray indicates perhaps you harbor deep seeded anger because you can’t even grow hair on your testicle retainer sack … but that is just my way of seeing it!
Master Chief, I owe you one. You made me laugh. 🙂 🙂 🙂
It’s bad enough that I see that TSO has more hair on his chin than my cat Mikey has on his very bushy tail, but TSO should be dressing up in something splendid befitting the style of the beard, and he won’t. Full dress 75th Highlanders would be nice. But my requests are going unheeded.
Here to serve all branches!
I am going to pretend I am as dumb as Sippy…
I guess you are supposed to eat the compass, use the bible to scare people, and the shotgun will give you directions…durr…durr…
@87 – ROFLMAO! But no one could really be that dumb… could they?
Splinky just had to GO AND RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE, didn’t you, you little asswiper!!!
Fawn Hall shredding documents…using money for personal private security…nope don’t really get it.