All Creatures Great and Small

Change is the only constant

During the summer of 1972, I was honorably discharged from the US Navy after serving 21 months on active duty in communications...  I served on a salvage/rescue ship and was stationed at Little Creek at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia...  During the last 6 months of my enlistment our ship was deployed on a Med Cruise and when we left port, I decided I was not going to shave until I was discharged.  So, the beard you see in the photo is the result of a little over 6 months of growth and never trimmed.  Once home in NC, I kept the beard for a couple of days then shaved it off.  I wore a mustache for a few years, then a goatee for a couple of more and have been clean shaven ever since.

I was 25 years old and had completed 3 years of college before enlisting in the military because I was not sure if I wanted to be a college student or not...  It did not take me long to realize that college was the only way for me to have a successful future.  In 1974, I was awarded a BA in English and in 1981, I was awarded an MBA...  And, while I could have used my MBA to earn massive amounts of money, I would have had to relocate much farther NORTH than Virginia and I just did not want to do that.  So, the trade off was a high salary for a slow pace life.

And, while my life was of a slow pace, all the jobs that I accepted in NC, TN, KY were anything but slow paced with the realization that the only thing I had escaped was being in a lot of traffic at rush hour.  As a result, I suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 60 that should have killed me but because I was so damn healthy due to constant exercising, I survived because my body had created its own bypass which at the time I thought was amazing and still do.

I have had about 10 employers during my 45 year career all of whom were pains-in-the-ass and did not want "free thinkers" but someone they could control to do their bidding, using numbers to measure and control their future employment.

Not only was I in a constant state of change, I taught change and continuous improvement of processes in a variety of industries:  Education, Manufacturing, Retail, Government, Military, Healthcare, Publishing, Printing, Automotive, Service, and Non-Profits.  Small scale, incremental, day-to-day changes in the way the work gets down...  including continuous improvement in how I delivered my material.

Change in the only constant in life besides the passing of time and the fact that we all grow older and what's done is done and can never really be redone since the past can never be revisited...  as it is always the present and whatever was done is now NEW.  That is to say...  a company can NEVER have any STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES if they are making continuous improvement by DEFAULT...

Some people find that UNSETTLING...  to say the least...

Reducing Police Department Budgets or DEFUNDING

Personally, I think this is a great idea and was really looking forward to receiving a break on my taxes and possibly an increased refund, when I learned that these monies, instead of going to police departments will be redirected...   that is to say will be used in another area of the budget...  possibly on programs for youth that will keep them from going up with racist attitudes and beliefs...

What comical here is the fact that people sit in CHURCH every Sunday for 60-90 minutes sometimes longer, listening as to how to become better Christians and once they leave the Church, they go right back to being whoever they were before they walked through those church doors...

Classes for young people are not going to stop RACISM...

How idiotic have we become...

CHRIST ALMIGHTY...  we had a frigging BLACK PRESIDENT and that did not stop RACISM nor did it really improve BLACK EMPLOYMENT... 

LAWLESSNESS IN SEATTLE

AUTONOMOUS ZONE IN SEATTLE

Seattle protesters have declared a six-block area abandoned by law enforcement as “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” but the mainstream media doesn’t seem to think the lawlessness is particularly newsworthy.

CNN only mentioned “Seattle” once on Wednesday when discussing general unrest in major cities, according to a search of transcripts, while MSNBC didn’t cover Seattle on-air at all during the same time period. Both networks finally addressed the situation early on Thursday but only to comment on President Trump tweeting about it.

SEATTLE PROTESTERS STORM CITY HALL, DEMAND MAYOR RESIGN AFTER DRIVING POLICE OUT OF AREA, DECLARING AUTONOMOUS ZONE

The evening newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS didn’t mention “autonomous zone” through Wednesday, according to Media Research Center news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro.

“It has been days since this nonsense had started and the broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, and NBC -- have kept it off the air,” Fondacaro wrote on Wednesday night.

"The networks were busy trying to make the recent nationwide protests seem reasonable by ignoring radical provocations such as the 'autonomous zone,' Fondacaro added.

DON LEMON ACCUSER OPTIMISTIC CNN HOST WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALLEGED ENCOUNTER

DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall feels the “chaos in Seattle is basically the next step in the movement to defund the police” and “generally dismantle” institutional structures and norms – but it doesn’t fit the media’s agenda.  READ ENTIRE ARTICLE...

Change This If You Will...

As a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP, I refuse to walk the streets of Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City, San Antonio, Miami, or Chicago at night because I am afraid of violence that might be perpetrated upon me by blacks, Asians, Mexicans, or Hispanics...  HOWEVER, I am not afraid of LAW ENFORCEMENT regardless of the color inside the uniform.

I did not grow up with the fear of SLAVERY hanging over my head or the notion that I am a SECOND CLASS citizen or that I was born on the wrong side of the tracks.  I grew up Middle Class and learned the value of saving money, working for money, preventive medicine, and pinching pennies...

INTERESTINGLY, I am not afraid of other whites at night...  unless, they look or dress like BIKERS and/or dressed like what appears to be members of a street gang.

ILLEGAL DRUGS in the USA is as easy to procure as a PROSTITUTE or using the bathroom at a fast food chain to take a shit.

ALCOHOLISM in the USA is as prevalent as a male scratching his balls in public or a female needing breast implants to look more attractive with her tattoos.

RAP MUSIC incorporates LYRICS praises harm being done to WHITE CRACKERS and being a white cracker myself, I never know when or where that harm might be accomplished...  and, when it does...  you can be damn sure that LAW ENFORCEMENT will not be around to protect you.

DON"T GET ME WRONG HERE...   I would not want to walk down the streets of Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City, San Antonio, Miami, or Chicago AT NIGHT even if I felt protected which I don't...  those cities are not on my bucket list...

BUT THE POINT IS THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE AFRAID...

MANY WHITES ARE EQUALLY AFRAID OF BLACKS...

Bad Humor

Citizens of COLOR

What amazes me in these last few days after GEORGE FLOYD was senselessly killed by law enforcement is the NOTION that while we are trying to ELIMINATE RACISM, we refer to NON CAUCASIAN Americans as Citizens of Color...  so, what does that make white people:  Citizens without COLOR?

As soon as we differentiate one color from another color we have RACISM...  there should be no differentiation between colors...  WE ARE ALL AMERICANS...  are we not?


Some Americans are targeted by LAW ENFORCEMENT while other Americans are not targeted and that is the problem that we are really trying to solve...  otherwise, we ourselves, perpetuate RACISM...   and, it would appear that even our LEADERS do not comprehend the difference nor do they comprehend how they are perpetuating RACISM.

In numerous previous posts, I have mentioned this concept, so this is nothing new for me to write about.  We can no longer be seen as:

• White Americans
  
• Black Americans
• Native Americans
• Mexican Americans
• Mixed Americans
• Asian Americans
• Oriental Americans
• Christian Americans
• Hispanic Americans
• European Americans
• Irish Americans
• Catholic Americans
• Brown Americans
• Dark Brown Americans
• African Americans

CONGRESS can PASS as many laws as they want to and require each State to enforce those laws, but it will NOT STOP RACISM as long as we differentiate Americans by COLOR.

INTERMISSION II

Speaking Out...

Psychology Today

The Psychology of Racism

Racism is a sign of a lack of psychological maturity and integration.

Steve Taylor Ph.D.
Out of the Darkness
Posted Jan 19, 2018


Racism has been—and unfortunately still is—such a prominent feature of so many human societies that it might be tempting to think of it as somehow "natural" or "innate."

Indeed, this is the conclusion that some evolutionary psychologists have come to. Evolutionary psychology tries to account for present-day human traits in terms of the survival benefit they might have had to our ancestors. If a trait has survived and become prevalent, then the genes associated with it must have been "selected" by evolution.

According to this logic, racism is prevalent because it was beneficial for early human beings to deprive other groups of resources. It would have done our ancestors no good to be altruistic and allow other groups to share their resources; that would have just decreased their own chances of survival. But if they could subjugate and oppress other groups, this would increase their own access to resources. In these terms, according to Pascal Boyer, racism is "a consequence of highly efficient economic strategies," enabling us to "keep members of other groups in a lower-status position, with distinctly worse benefits." (1) Another related idea is that to see one’s own group as special or superior would have helped us to survive by enhancing group cohesion.  READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

A Police FREE Society

The president of the Minneapolis City Council, who went viral for saying that calling the police when your home is broken into “comes from a place of privilege,” has said she wants a “police-free society.”

Speaking on CNN’s "Cuomo Prime Time" Monday night, Lisa Bender took the idea of disbanding the police a step further.

Host Chris Cuomo told her: “When you say you see someday being police-free that sounds aspirational, a utopian concept where nobody’s committing any crime, because as long as these communities are being preyed upon, both from within and without, there’s gonna have to be good men and women willing to step up to keep people safe.”

She replied: “I think the idea of having a police-free future is very aspirational, and I am willing to stand with community members who are asking us to think of that as the goal.”

Read entire article...

Phone Calls

Because we have been getting so many robo and telemarketing calls, my wife and I decided to add CALLER ID and even though we know (for the most part) who is calling, we still do not answer the phone unless we know who is calling like the doctor's office reminding us of our appointment...

Instead of getting 15-20 or more calls each day, we are down to about 5-7 which is still unacceptable but since we don't answer it is manageable...  at least for the time being.

We used to answer the phone and dick around with the caller who was usually from INDIA but after a while even that got tedious.

NOT ANSWERING is the best approach...  at least for us...

America's Democracy

A Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.  It can also be seen as  control of an organization or country by the majority of its members.

A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. Rather than being a cross between two entirely separate systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies.

In other words:  the general public gives power to ELECTED OFFICIALS to operate on their behalf...  and, the general public elects a President rather than a MONARCH.

In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote following the general election. There are a total of 538 electoral votes and the candidate who get more than half or 270 wins the election.

Originally, the Electoral College provided the Constitutional Convention with a compromise between the popular election of the President and congressional selection. ... The 12th Amendment—ratified in 1804—changed the original process, allowing for separate ballots for determining the President and Vice President.

Since President Trump DID NOT WIN the POPULAR VOTE but WON THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE.... DEMOCRATS DO NOT BELIEVE that he is the LEGITIMATE President of the United States... and, this belief has resulted in the MAINSTREAM MEDIA being against him with everything he does or does not do...

DEMOCRATS do not recognize the CONSTITUTIONALITY of his Presidency... even though he was CONSTITUTIONALLY elected...

PRETTY MUCH, our country is DIVIDED 50/50 because of the 2016 Presidential Election and will continue to be DIVIDED should Trump get re-elected in 2020...

DO WE RESTORE THE DIVISION BY REMOVING TRUMP IN 2020?

What will happen if we do remove Trump to restore the balance?

1. Government Regulations will return to businesses
2. Business will restrict their operations
3. Taxes will increase
4. Funding of our military will decrease
5. Healthcare for all
6. Free education for all
7. Prices will increase (maybe inflation)
8. Stock market will not grow as rapidly
9. Unemployment (after COVID) will gradually increase
10. Congress will again accomplish nothing
11. Terrorism will increase globally
12. China will grow their economy and military
13. North Korea will acquire nuclear weapons
14. Russia will expand their territory
15. Trade Deals will start to deteriorate
16. America's Wealthy will hide their money from taxes
17. College Degrees will be a dime-a-dozen
18. Law Enforcement Personnel will SHRINK
19. Illegal Drug Traffic in USA will increase
20. Illegal Immigration will increase

Out For Breakfast This Morning

My wife and I decided to go out to breakfast this morning again because we felt pretty safe at the restaurant we went to last week...    so, we went there again...  mostly whites patronize this restaurant and every once in a while we see a black individual or family but not often.  This morning, while we were waiting for a table, a black man cam in by himself and we eventually sat beside him outside on the patio which did not bother either one of us one iota...  but, this was my impression of him:

• late 30's, early 40's
• large link gold chain around his neck
• about 6 feet tall, 200 lbs, athletic build
• wearing a basketball jersey and his arms were full of tattoos
• his tennis shoes looked bigger than his feet and were half way laced up
• close but hair and clean shaven, wearing a baseball cap turned around backwards
• he was wearing a pair of baggy nylon gym pants with the waist pulled down to the middle of his ass

I never heard him speak and by all accounts he behavior seemed normal and he also appeared to be very polite with everyone with whom he made contact while I was observing him.

My first impression was:  this is not someone I want to get to know...

First of all...

• I dislike tattoos and believe that people who support tattoos have low self esteem issues
• I also think that tattoos make the individual look dirty and unclean
• I think someone who wears a baseball cap backwards looks like a fool
• I think someone who wears his pants down below his waist looks like an idiot
• I immediately have no respect for this person

LET ME POINT OUT HERE...   if this individual that my wife and I saw this morning was WHITE, I would have formed the same opinion...

MY CONCERN:  If our Federal Government tries to get me to stop thinking like this because it is contributing to racial inequality, then I am going to tell our Federal Government to take a hike.  I have every right to believe like I believe and to express my beliefs in a reasonable professional manner.

Morning Coffee

Everyday: I learn something new...

Last week, I finished replacing the decking on our backyard deck that surrounds our above ground pool, at a cost of about $150...  the task as mention in a previous post took me a week whereas someone who knew what they were doing could have completed the task in a day.  This afternoon, I went to collect all the replaced wood to carry to the street for pick-up when I noticed some of the boards were turned over and looked almost brand new, only slightly weathered.  I went to the garage and got my sander and began sanding some of this old wood that I was planning to throw away and realized probably 80% of better was reusable.  I have a storage area under the deck so I put the wood down there for future use.

I realized then and there that in the future instead of removing the old decking and replacing it with new decking, I am going to see if I just cannot flip it over and screw it back down and see if it will last another few years.  The original decking lasted over 10 years on one side, so it might just last another 10 years on the other side.

THIS and THAT