Showing posts with label TN State University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TN State University. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1

Another Morning in East TN

When I was a boy growing up in Alexandria, VA, Labor Day Weekend marked the end of summer because as soon as the weekend was over, we returned to public education and while the weekend was always enjoyable, the threat of going back to school was hanging over everyone's head even though most of the kids my age never gave that reality much thought until it actually happened.  Today, in most States, public education returns in the middle of August and because of the Corona Virus, those schools that do have students in their classrooms will be totally different than when I was a boy.

STINK BUGS ARE LIKE POLITICIANS
It is easy to remember things like this because being retired and having few hobbies or friends that I see regularly, I have nothing much else to do but remember.

However, for some of us here in East TN, the end of summer does not just mark the return of public education and a gradual decline of the heat, but the return of STINK BUGS.

According to TN State University, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a invasive pest of fruits, nuts, vegetables and ornamentals. The bug was first detected in Allentown, PA in 1998 and has since spread across the United States. The bug was found in Tennessee during 2008 and has since become an agricultural and nuisance pest in parts of the state.  Seasonal cues trigger stink bugs' search for winter quarters; the shortening days and falling temperatures sending them scuttling for cover. If they sheltered beneath tree bark or mulch, it would be one thing. But they prefer sharing your home over winter, piling into cracks and crevices by the thousands.

What got me to thinking about stink bugs was finding one in the kitchen sink on my way out to the back porch to sit, drink coffee, and write.

And...  while I like watching FOX NEWS as opposed to the biased news of ABC, MSNBC, CBS, and CNN, I got tired of them repeating over and over and over again how misleading mainstream media is, how screwed up the Democrats are, and how the 2020 election could have negative consequences for the US as a whole.

After 72 years of life and 45 years of working in a career, I have witnessed very little change in this country and very little meaningful action by either house of Congress.
  • So what, if America goes Socialistic...  America already has Socialism
  • So what, if America's wealthy gets higher and higher taxes...  that will never apply to me
  • So what, if Democrats increase Medicare/Social Security...  that will simply benefit me
  • So what, if the Stock Market goes down and down...  I have enough money in savings
I will be dead or dying if and when CAPITALISM starts to die out
I will be dead or dying if and when CHINA takes over America
I will be dead or dying if and when RUSSIA becomes a global leader economically

One of the criticisms of JOE BIDEN is that he has been an elected official for 47 years and has done nothing to change:
  1. the wealth gap
  2. gender equality
  3. racism
  4. education
  5. illegal drugs
  6. immigration
  7. crime
HELL FIRE PEOPLE...  this is not just JOE BIDEN but ALL DEMOCRATS and ALL REPUBLICANS...  the only difference now is that the mainstream media instead of being fair and balanced are BIASED FOR  THE DEMOCRATS...