Komic Korner Kartoons

 

On Being White

A few years ago, Henry Louis Gates presented our family history to our family and relatives and on my father's side of the family, there is a paper trail going back to Charlemagne.  On my mother's side of the family, we traced back to Africa.

Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of the Lombards from 774, and the Emperor of the Romans from 800. During the Early Middle Ages, he united the majority of western and central Europe. He was the first recognized emperor to rule from western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state that Charlemagne founded is called the Carolingian Empire.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

I remember Gates telling the assembled group that as far as my father's side of the family was concerned, we were AS WHITE AS WHITE CAN BE...  and, while that got a laugh or two, it was not meant to be funny but more along the lines of being an INSULT..  as you can well imagine by looking at his photo (right).  That really bothered me because in all my interactions with Mr. Gates, I always perceived him to be my friend.

From that day forward, I have seen/witnessed numerous situations where WHITE FOLKS are being made to feel guilty for being WHITE simply because WHITE FOLKS think that they are better than everyone else...  or, so is the perception.

Interestingly, when I lived in Egypt from 1962-1966 and traveled through Europe, many Egyptians and Europeans resented my presence but not because I was WHITE but because I was an AMERICAN...  and, the reason for that was because AMERICANS felt like they were better than everyone else.

NOW...  it's a matter of WHITES thinking they are better than everyone else...  yet, the similarities in HATRED are the same...  WHITE or AMERICAN...  it really does not make any difference...  you have something I don't have so I am going to make you feel guilty...

REMEMBER...  this sentiment against WHITES is coming from only 13% of the population...  Blacks only represent 13% of the US Population....   Hispanics/Latinos represent a larger percentage at 18%, but there is no reason for them to be concerned it seems...

SO...  WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

THIS and THAT

2020 Presidential Election INDIFFERENCE

On November 3, 2020 Americans will once again decide the fact of the United States and while some people on both side feel that this election is DIRE AND CRITICAL...  the outcome of this election is really inconsequential...

WHY DO I SAY THIS?

>>>the BIG ISSUES with this election<<<

• Packing the Supreme Court
• gun control
• abortion
• Medicare for All
• Global Warming/Climate Control
• Increase in Taxes
• Open Borders for Immigration
• Defunding Police Departments
• Free Education
• Growing the Economy
• Global Issues

Who really cares about abortion or even late term abortion other than those people who need or want to have an abortion.  According to the data, there are 186 abortions for every 1,000 births which is about 19%.  Unless you are a female, abortions have very little influence over the male population.  And, it would seem logical that a female has the right to decide what to do with her body.  My personal religious belief doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

As far as gun control is concerned...  why do we even have a second amendment these days since we have law enforcement, a military, and a national guard.  Besides, if the Democrats find a way to have EXTREME GUN CONTROL...  gun violence will increase and the illegal sell of guns will increase just like it did during PROHIBITION...  Americans always want what they cannot have.

OUR NATIONAL DEBT is so high right now that it is going to be damn near impossible to pay it off in such a way that it could benefit the American People.  Therefore, what difference does it matter to borrow more money...  and, if we cannot borrow more money, then we should print more money...   I think the Democrats should be given the opportunity to have everything they want because they only people that will be able to fund these efforts are the WEALTHY PEOPLE...

Since I am not WEALTHY, I don't give a rat's ass if you take money away from them or not; in fact, I would like it, if you took money away from them...  maybe they will stop acting so cocky and arrogant.

OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS NO BIG DEAL...

THE IMPACT OF THIS ELECTION WILL POSSIBLY HURT THOSE WHO ARE NOT RETIRED...  BUT RETIRED TRUST FUNDS ARE SACRED COWS AND WILL NOT BE REDUCED...  IF ANYTHING THEY WILL INCREASE...

My Cat and I

Throughout the summer months when the temps were high and the humidity strong, my cat and I would sit on the back porch which is also screened in and spend a little time together although it was not clear how much interaction between us there was since my cat would sleep and I would write, but we were out there together nonetheless.

Now that these mornings have turned cool, we still are outside in the morning but while I am on the porch, my cat is downstairs, curled up in the corner of the couch on the deck that is covered with blankets to keep to sun from bleaching out the colors.

My cat looks up at me, sitting in my chair on the porch with the understanding I believe that I should walk down the stairs and join him on the couch like my wife always does unless it is raining or the bugs are too pronounced.  I am comfortable in my seat and remain where I am.

My cat and I spend time together in this same way almost everyday, even when my toes are cold and my upper body is wrapped inside a sweatshirt with a hood that is getting dangerously close to being pulled over my head for warmth...  of course, I suppose I could put socks on my feet to keep them a tad warmer but would require more initiative than I am willing to put forth this morning.

Fall and its cold stepchildren are in the air playing with our souls and telling us that we should stay inside and leave the outside to them and their playmates.  But, being outside is comforting especially after being inside for so long and not being able to travel.

Storm clouds approach from all sides, reducing visibility but also eliminating the depth-of-field that is typically seen on normal days up in the sky with various shades of blue.  Gray is such an ugly color that it offers no consolation unless it is juxtaposed with other colors that are more often than not found in nature before the seasons take them all away and we are left with only the harsh tones of winter and the isolated months inside.

My cat and I are enjoying these last few days together...  in a relative way...

All Creatures Great and Small

Communities of COLOR

When I was growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, we were told to refer to black people as negroes and colored people respectively.  In the 1970's and 1980's, we were told to refer to them as African Americans and all kinds of African American cultural centers opened up all over the US.  In the late 1990's and 2000's, we were told to refer to them as either African Americans or as Blacks but today we are told that they are PEOPLE OF COLOR and that they live in COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.

What I also find interesting is that early in my life I was referred to as WHITE, then later in life I was a CAUCASIAN, and nowadays I am a NON HISPANIC WHITE...

But, what is going on with our BLACK/PEOPLE OF COLOR/AFRICAN AMERICANS especially since they only represent 13% of our US POPULATION?

Why are they getting so much attention?

BUT, going back to our Communities of Color...  why do we have Communities of Color in the first place?

• Do Blacks not want to live with whites?
• Do Whites not want to live with blacks?

AND...  here is another interesting question...

SHOULD OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FORCE STATES AND COMMUNITIES TO BE 

REPRESENTATIVE OF US DEMOCRAPHICS?

    Churches

Drug Addicts

Drug Sellers
Schools
Communities
Restaurants
Resorts
Airline Travel
Law Enforcement
Professional Athletes
Employees
Fire Protection Personnel
Doctors
Lawyers
Dentists
Airline Pilots
CEO's
Millionaires/Billionaires
Elected Officials
College Professors
Astronauts
Taxi Cab Drivers
Professional Musicians
Professional Dancers
Financial Bankers & Brokers
Professional Golfers
Professional Tennis Players

For instance,

I live in a community in East TN where there are at least 150 homes and the people who live in those homes are ALL WHITE...

Should our community BE FORCED to have:

• 13% of our homes be owned by BLACKS/AFRICAN AMERICANS/PEOPLE OF COLOR
• 18% of our homes be owned by Hispanics/Latinos
• 6% of our homes be owned by Asians

Why are PEOPLE OF COLOR more important than Hispanics/Latinos?

The fact remains that we have COMMUNITIES OF COLOR in the US because the PEOPLE OF COLOR do not want to live with the CAUCASIANS or NON HISPANIC WHITES...  otherwise, they would be bitching and doing exactly that...

1. BLACK PEOPLE want their exclusive AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTERS
2. BLACK PEOPLE want their exclusive WHITES ARE TO BLAME FOR SLAVERY COLLEGE CLASSES
3. BLACK PEOPLE want their beliefs that OUR CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE REWRITTEN TO REFLECT ONLY THEIR INTERESTS and that our Amendments are not enough for them
4. BLACK PEOPLE want the WEALTH taken away from WHITES and given to BLACKS
5. BLACK PEOPLE want the WHITE MILITARY to protect them while they are destroying American rights and liberties

OUR National Debt

                                                  

Understanding the Debt

When the federal government runs a deficit, Treasury borrows money to make up the difference between spending and revenue. Then, if special funds like the Medicare trust fund have surpluses, the “extra” revenue is lent to the rest of the federal government.

The federal debt is the total amount of money that the federal government owes, either to its investors or to itself. At the end of fiscal year 2019, the total federal debt was $22.8 trillion dollars.

How the Federal Government Borrows Money

The federal government borrows money from the public by issuing securities—bills, notes, and bonds—through the Treasury. Treasury securities are attractive to investors because they are:

1. Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government
2. Offered in a wide range of maturities
3. Exempt from state and local taxes
4. Mostly marketable, meaning they can be resold in the financial market (a small portion are nonmarketable and can’t be resold, like U.S. Savings Bonds).

Investors can easily trade Treasury securities because there are many people interested in buying and selling them at any given time. Investors are willing to pay more for this safety and liquidity—leading to lower borrowing costs (interest on the debt) for the government.

More than 75 percent of foreign holdings of Treasury securities can be attributed to 14 countries. China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) and Japan have the largest holdings. However, this does not mean that residents of these countries are the ultimate owners. The data only identify where the securities are held. Obtaining accurate information on the actual foreign owners is often not possible, because chains of foreign financial intermediaries are often involved in the custody or management of these securities.

Time As A Dimension

Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events that occur in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change of quantities in material reality or in the conscious experience. Time is often referred to as a fourth dimension, along with three spatial dimensions.  SOURCE:  WIKIPEDIA

Time is just as good a dimension as space is, as no matter how you boost yourself through space, you must always move forward through time.  If time weren't a dimension with the exact properties it possesses, special relativity would be invalid, and we could not construct spacetime to describe our Universe.

So, do you think time is a dimension?

In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it – for example, the point at 5 on a number line.

But is time a number that denotes movement or does time have its own dimensional qualities like:  depth, height, and width?

We refer to space-time but only because we see space as moving forward not backward and that movement forward is measured by the passing of time.  

But, is there time before it happens?

Tomorrow has not happened yet and because there was a yesterday and a today, we can assume that there will be a tomorrow but what about time...  has tomorrow's time already taken place?  And, if it has how can we guarantee that it is moving forward and not backward to accommodate our moving forward?

We cannot...   all we can do is imagine and speculate based upon historical data.

WOMB to TOMB

 ALL OF US WILL AGE FROM YOUNG TO OLD THEN DIE...

**********

Some of us will be poor

Some of us will be wealthy but a

Vast majority of us will be middle class...

whatever the hell that means financially.

}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{

The average annual income in America is about $50,000/individual so  a married couple or two people combing their incomes would be looking at $100,000...  almost of which is spent not saved for a RAINY DAY or for RETIREMENT...

<<<<<<<<<<<:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::>>>>>>>>>>>

As we age from youth to middle age to becoming a senior citizen, our values and sometimes our morals change as we develop different civil and religious perspectives.  These perspectives change what we perceive as being right ort wrong and how we live our lives and treat our fellow citizens; unfortunately, as we age we move into a minority even if we are a majority because we are no longer either trying to build or end our careers...

What is interesting here is the fact that time moves FORWARD not BACKWARD so all of us will eventually become older and older and older until we die...  and, no matter whether we were wealthy, poor, or in between will matter to anyone let alone to ourselves...

Some of us will try and build and name buildings after our name in the hopes of preserving our legacy but gradually over the years, family members will forget and not remember and if there are young grandchildren at the time of one's death, once they reach middle age they will not remember at all, even after looking at photographs...

So, why do we spend so much time trying to make a name for ourselves or try to convince the rest of the world that our life had meaning and/or purpose...

How many people really care about former President Thomas Jefferson?

Not many at all outside of our History Books.

But, what about the fact that Jefferson OWNED SLAVES...

Most every Black Person in America knows that...

HOWEVER, what does it matter now that he is DEAD?

It matters to the black folks and those who are descendants of SLAVES but outside of that connection, it really does not matter and it will not change what I decide to do with my life nor does it stop the passing of time or prevent me from becoming OLD.

AGING is not a mystery is it a FACT of life with which we all must contend regardless of how our lives are led and what we accomplished or do not accomplish...

INTERMISSION

ARTIST_Catrin Welz Stein

ARTIST_Douglas Aagard

ARTIST_Duy Huynh

ARTIST_Herr Muell

ARTIST_Max Albert

ARTIST_Michael Z Tyree

ARTIST_Pavel Shmarov

ARTIST_Scott Prior

ARTIST_Slava Fokk

ARTIST_Yury Lomkov