It's Just The Way It Is

It really does not matter what our Federal Government wants to do anymore because whatever it is that they do will not really impact a majority of Americans other than increasing taxes.  Taxes pretty much effects everyone, but if we move into actual socialism what will change?  The poor will get more but they still will not have as much as the rest of us.

The poor will still be able to afford to do any of the following:

• Attend musical concerts
• Professional Sports Events
• Buy a $200,000 homes
• Buy a Luxury Cars
• Book passage on Cruise Ship
• Fly to Europe or Hawaii
• Join the Country Club
• Buy new clothes every year
• Pay down their debt
• Earn a 6 figure income
• Gamble at Los Vegas

NOTE:  however it is possible to get seats in the nose bleed section of an outdoor arena and stadium but it is doubtful that the individual will be able to see unless there is a large movie screen...  and, if you are watching the action on a screen, it is really no better than staying home.

There is always the possibility that poor people can borrow money to do these things but after a while their credit will sour when they don't pay anything off.

Still...  if this new administration grants free college tuition to people then those poor people who dropped out of high school or just barely graduated from high school will be able to attend college...  but, are the odds on their side to pass courses?  YES...  because the schools they are attending will DUMB DOWN education for them.

The other question is will they get hired by employers and if so, how long will they remain employed when they have trouble producing?

As Americans receive more and more from their Federal Government, people like me who are RETIRED and don't need anything more, will also receive more from their Federal Government...  and, since our income is low, our tax burden is low as well.

TAXES will come from CORPORATIONS and the WEALTHY...

But, will the WEALTHY be allowed to put their money in offshore accounts to reduce their tax burdens?

And, will CORPORATION hire less people and/or increase prices to compensate for higher taxes?

Whatever happens will happen and whatever happens was supposed to happen from the getgo...  because...

IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS...

Italy Locked Down Until April 6, 2021

ROME -- Italy is facing another lockdown, as the government attempts to contain a recent surge of coronavirus cases, marred by the presence of new variants.  Half of Italy's 20 regions, which include the cities Rome, Milan and Venice, will be entering new coronavirus restrictions from Monday, March 15. The measures will be effective through April 6, according to a decree passed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi's cabinet on Friday.

In regions demarcated as "red zones" people will be unable to leave their houses except for work or health reasons, with all non-essential shops closed. In "orange zones," people will also be banned from leaving their town and their region -- except for work or health reasons -- and bars and restaurants will only be able to do delivery and take-away service.

Affected regions will be labelled red or orange, depending on the level of contagion. Regions that report weekly COVID-19 cases of more than 250 per 100,000 residents will also automatically go into lockdown, meaning that other regions could also be affected during this time period.

The health ministry said that the aim of the measures is to get the R rate -- the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus onto -- down to 1.

Additionally, over Easter weekend, the entire country will be considered a "red zone," and will be subject to a national lockdown from April 3 to 5.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said new coronavirus measures are "necessary" because "we are unfortunately facing a new wave of infections" one year after the start of the pandemic.

The country's R rate is now at 1.6 with coronavirus variants increasing the spread of the virus, according to the health ministry.

The variant B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, is also now prevalent in the country, according to the health ministry, who also said that they are worried about the presence of small clusters of the Brazilian variant.

The UK variant was originally found to be more easily transmissible -- and new data published in the medical journal, the BMJ, supports claims from UK officials, based on preliminary data, that the variant may be more deadly, as well.

Meanwhile, the variant first reported in Brazil, known as P.1, may be up to 2.2 times more transmissible and could evade immunity from previous COVID-19 infection by up to 61%, according to a modeling study, released earlier this month by researchers in Brazil and the UK.            READ MORE

Do It NOW

 

Journalism IS NOT an Honorable Profession

It may seem like a bold statement to make, but I believe it without question now because of the Trump Administration.  

When Trump began his Presidency, I was attending the local gym and when I was on the treadmill, I would be watching FOX News on the monitor screen in front of the machine.  As I paid attention to what I was watching, it did not agree with what I had just watched on either CBS or CNN...  The more I paid attention to the news and started making comparison, I soon discovered that FOX News was the only station that was actually presenting the TRUTH.  The other two stations:  CBS and CNN were slanted the news to coincide with the Democratic Narrative.

In fact, the me I watched FOX News, the more I realized that the actual coverage was different if it negatively impacted the Democrats.  FOX News might devote an hour or so to the controversy but CBS and CNN were only devoting a minute or two...  if that.

Today, as I was driving down to a doctor's appointment, I was listening to a TALK  RADIO station out of Knoxville, and one of the callers shared an experience he had endured while attending an Ethics in Journalism class at the University of Tennessee.  While he was in this class one day, the professor played a tape between Walter Cronkite and President Johnson and the President was telling Cronkite how he should SPIN the news on the Vietnam War....  so that the public was only receiving a portion of the truth not the whole truth because it would look bad on President Johnson and the Democrats.

Back in the mid 1990's, I was interviewed by a journalist and when the article appeared, the so-called journalist had twisted my comments to make it look like I had said something altogether different from what I actually had said.

The recent fiasco in Georgia is another example of how journalists who are the handmaidens of the Democratic Party are going to SPIN the news in such a way that it again conforms to the Democratic Narrative which is not even close to the TRUTH...

Cancel Me Please...

Cancel culture (or call-out culture) is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. Those who are subject to this ostracism are said to have been "cancelled".

Woke is a slang term that is easing into the mainstream from some varieties of a dialect called African American Vernacular English (sometimes called AAVE). In AAVE, awake is often rendered as woke, as in, “I was sleeping, but now I'm woke.” 'Woke' is increasingly used as a byword for social awareness.

As someone who earned a BA in English, the explanation of WOKE really bothers me because it is grammatically incorrect...  and yet, it is so popular that I would bet that WEBSTER's Dictionary will include it in their book going forward soon...

BUT...  right now these two concepts are filtering through America like a FART AT A SOCIAL GATHERING in a room with no windows.   

Almost everyday, I learn that something new has been cancelled because of one reason or another...  typically because they are beinjg referred to as RACIST...

The problem I have with being a RACIST is the fact that the only people who have been called RACISTS are WHITES...  I have never heard of a BLACK being called a RACIST...  and yet, RAP MUSIC LYRICS speak often about waging war against the whites and killing whites...  but, this is not RACIST...

It is this hypocrisy that will eventually kill the movement once people realize that they have been played as FOOLS...

It is my HOPE and DESIRE that the BLACK RACE cancels me...  and, the reason why I say this is because I don't want to find myself in public enjoying life in East TN...  and, not living in an urban area where BEING WOKE is destroying those cities...

CANCEL ME and keep me here...

Transition

Years ago, I would have said that March is the transition month between winter and spring but recently the weather has changed my mind in that it is now a combination of March/April that acts as a transition between winter and spring...  regardless of when spring actually begins.  So, from March 15 through April 15, we can now say that these 30 days are transition days because the weather can be mildly warm or mildly cold.  After experiencing a few warm days in the 60's and 70's to drop down into 40's and 50's is chilly, especially with people who are considered senior citizens or retirees.

Winter in the SOUTHERN STATES does not last very long and in the Eastern part of TN, winter lasts during the months of January and February and about half of March...  although, it has happened that April is now experiencing some of the cold March weather.  

I like wearing T-shirts and jeans...  sometimes shorts...  along with flip-flops...  and the longer that I can wear them the better and more comfortable I feel.  Now that I am retired, my need to wear casual business clothes does not happen very long unless I am going to a restaurant or to the doctor's office.  Because of my dressing habits, I will not have to buy any clothes for the rest of my life.

Easter Monday

Easter Monday holds religious significance for Christians, as it follows Easter Sunday, the day Jesus Christ was resurrected following his crucifixion on Good Friday.

It is believed that Jesus remained on earth for 40 days after his resurrection, and during this time he appeared to believers, healed the sick and spread the word of God.

The acts he carried out during this period are thought to have helped establish the first church. After the 40 days ended, Christians believe that he ascended into heaven.

The Bible itself does not say anything about what happened on Easter Monday, after Jesus’ resurrection, and it also doesn’t specifically instruct Christians to celebrate the Monday following Easter Sunday.

But across the globe, different cultures celebrate the day for different reasons. For some it’s a more solemn remembrance of Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection, which is marked with an outdoor procession.

For others there’s a more playful element to celebrating the day, like holding Easter egg-rolling competitions. Rolling Easter eggs is traditionally meant to symbolize the rolling of the stone from the tomb where Jesus was held.

Syria's All Female Militia

 Sasha Ingber writes...


In northern Syria, east of the Euphrates River, a women’s militia has been battling ISIS -- and battling the odds.

"We just want peace. We just want women to live safe," says Lana.

She is a 32-year-old YPJ fighter -- no spouse, no children. She says she’s one of 35,000 mainly Kurdish women who’ve joined the cause.

"It's like to be one soul in, in many bodies," she tells Newsy.

The militia started in 2013, as a way of protecting neighborhoods during the civil war. Then they started fighting ISIS terrorists who captured, sold and enslaved women and girls. In the strife came opportunity for women to rewrite the rules governing their lives.

"What they are doing is one of the most far-reaching experiments in women's equality, any place in the world. Every town they took from ISIS has a male and a female head of the civil council. There's a women's council in every town. There are women judges trying cases," says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.   READ MORE

COMMENT:  As a white male Vietnam Veteran, it amazes me how all the other countries throughout the world put females into combat zones and yet the United States does not think that is appropriate for American females.  We have females in the military but not a whole lot of them are sent into combat zones.

Why do American Females NOT WANT to be by the side of their male counterparts in a combat zone?

If we ever have a war fought inside the United States, I am pretty sure that you will see females fighting beside males...  and, perhaps that is what should happen to WAKE UP Americans...  that we are not as special as we think we are...

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

The Devil Came Out of Georgia

You would need to be half BRAIN DEAD if you do not know that Baseball's All Star Game was pulled out of Atlanta because the WOKE Mob believes that these new VOTING LAWS that the Georgia Legislature just recently passed are RACISTS...

Even President Biden said he supported moving the baseball game out of Georgia and along with President Biden Delta Airlines decided that they would use their corporate power to make Georgia regret what they did.

HOWEVER...

no one

not even the President of the United States

must have read the actual law because

everything that President Biden said on National TV about the law was a LIE...

What bothers me more than anything else is not so much that President Biden relied on advisors and still put his foot in his mouth but the CEO of Delta made his decision on something that was not true...  How many decisions has this CEO made during his tenure that was based upon data that was NOT TRUE...

It makes one wonder how the hell he got to be a CEO in the first place.

Atlanta may lose 100 million because of that game being moved...  but I am sure that Delta will be paying for it because the Governor is going to remove all of Delta's TAX BREAKS...  and, it is not going to be that easy to move Delta's HUB out of Atlanta and if they did...  where would they go?

Two things here are going to happen...  at least for me...

1.  I am going to stop flying on Delta

2.  I am going to stop watching MLB

Democrats on a Spending Binge

I am living on Social Security and my accumulated savings over my 45 year career where I made less than $50,000 annually for my entire career.  My salary was low but living in the rural Piedmont of NC and in the Tennessee Valley of east TN, the cost of living was so low that my annual salary still allowed me to do most anything I wanted, including vacations, owning a home, owning cars, and saving money.

The $6400 that we received in stimulus money was not spent but was put into our savings account to build up a nest egg in case we have to use that money later.  I know that doing this defeats the whole purpose of receiving stimulus money, but all I can say is that our situation is somewhat different than other people who might be laid off from work and do not have Social Security on which to rely to pay their bills.

So, the arrival of COVID and the systematic lockdown of the US including in part the State of TN came at an IDEAL TIME for my wife and I, especially now that I have received both COVID vaccine shots and all I need to do is wait until April 1, 2021 (3 days away) to be 96% protected.

HOWEVER...

it would be very much appreciated if the Democrats could find it in their hearts to send out another set of stimulus checks and/or increase the amount of Social Security that we both receive and/or reduce the amount of co-pays for which we are responsible as far as our Medicare bills are concerned even though we both have a supplemental policy as well...  there are still out-of-pocket expenses that we both must pay and those expenses can mount up.

The Democrats are on a SPENDING BINGE and retired people could use some extra money since we are not going to benefit from the potential of FREE EDUCATION and since we are not BLACK, we will be receiving NO SLAVERY REPARATIONS either...

The wealthy people in the United States have been allowed to earn wealth as if they are addicted to money and the Congress has done NOTHING to stop that from happening.  They shelter their money in offshore tax free bank accounts leaving the rest of us responsible for picking up the slack.

Perhaps the Democrats could put in a WAIVER for RETIREES on the increased taxes in the following areas:

• Capital Gains
• Gasoline 
• Inheritance
• Sales

Just like the Democrats are taking care of the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS these Democrats should also take better care of the RETIREES in the United States.

We need more money...

Give us more money and we will vote for you!!!

Care and Feeding of Seniors

 15.2% of the Population are 65 years of age and older...

13.4% of the Population are African Americans, Blacks, or People of Color...

There are more seniors in the United States than there are African Americans who collectively are pushing the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement...  and, while black lives do in fact matter, so too does ALL LIVES MATTER which is why I personally have a problem with the BLM movement to begin with.

Why separate blacks from all the other Americans?

BUT...  let's look at seniors.

They represent ONE out of SEVEN Americans.

and...  in many cases, these seniors are being treated for some kind of medical illness like heart disease, a variety of cancers and other illnesses associated with older people...  many of these seniors are living on Social Security payments which averages around $1,500/month nationwide...  which ain't much...  

A couple on Social Security might receive close to $3,000/month (if they are lucky) and in some locations around the country, $3,000/month is a livable wage...

However, the average cost of living ranges between $4,000 and $5,000 each month which is much higher than the average Social Security monthly allocation...

IF we are concerned about our BLACK POPULATION surely we should be worried about our SENIOR CITIZENS and how well that they are living, especially after working for America for over 40 years.

Today... in the Valley

Today...  is a "tad" chilly in East TN with a high temperature of in the low 50's which means very little if any work will be done outside...  but, starting Saturday, the temps will be in the 60's/70's and that trend will remain several days out into the future...  so, whatever outside  work was not accomplished today will have an opportunity to be completed in the near future.

For me, it does not matter if there is adverse weather conditions outside because I have plenty of things I need to do inside...  like prepare for next week's class on Personal Financial Planning that I am teaching for a local university, work on my blogs, and do a little cooking...

But, what is getting under my skin is the fact that I am counting my calories each day...  typically less than 2,000 each day and more often than not, averaging 1,500 +/- each day and instead of my weight going down, it is going up.  And that does not make any sense to me...  eating less...  weight going up...

However...

living in East TN is much different than living in a larger city, like Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles.  We don't have the traffic nor the crime in this area and the rural community where our home is located is quiet and serene and I feel secure enough to be able to walk around the community at any time of day or night.

For most of the morning at least until 10:00 am or so, I will watch FOX News and during the time that I am watching FOX, I will change the channels to CNN, CBS and sometimes ABC and NBC and what I have discovered is the fact that these other stations do not spend much time promoting the news that negatively reflects on the Biden administration.

I watch these other stations because I want to make sure that I get both sides of the story so I can make up my mind what to think and/or believe rather than be told what to think.  If I don't have access to both sides of the story, then I am receiving CENSORED NEWS.  I am against CENSORED NEWS being aired in a DEMOCRACY...

Today...  in East TN...  as long as I can watch FOX News, I am happy and content...   and, with that said...  I like the money that the Dems are spending and hope that they personally send me MORE...

My Faith

I was raised in a Christian home and we attended the United Methodist Church close to our home almost every Sunday without fail and our attendance included both Sunday School and Sunday Church Service.  I was baptized by my parents at a very young age and don't remember anything about the procedure...  so, 20 years ago, I was baptized again and was fully aware of the procedure and since it was in a Baptist Church, I was fully emerged in a tank of water.

After leaving high school my faith followed me even though I did not attend Church very often for one reason or another.  Once I was married, my wife and I attended an Episcopal Church which is not as odd as it sounds because we received free counseling if we attended on Sundays.

During my second marriage, my wife and I attended a Baptist Church and because of the Pastor and his enlightened religious philosophy and understanding and teachings, I decided to get baptized for a second time...  it was important to me that I made the decision rather than have that decision made for me by my parents.

The Pastor that baptized me was released from his contract with the Church because of receiving numerous DUI traffic violations.  While I did not intentionally put him on a pedestal, I did hold him in a position above everyone else and was incredibly disappointed. 

I have read the BIBLE cover-to-cover, took notes and copied passages on a CD for future reference and while I do not think about my faith everyday of the week but my faith is so embedded in my mind that it automatically follows me around everyday and allows me to appreciate the beauty all around me that has been created by our Creator.

Science tells me that our Universe was not created by our Creator that is was created by a BIG BANG and accelerated expansion probably from the explosion of a BLACK HOLE...  but, science cannot explain where all the matter inside this BLACK HOLE came from...  that is to say, did this stuff just appear out of nowhere...  and, this is where my faith comes in because it explains what science cannot explain.

AND...  while I had no idea after leaving high school where I would end up in life, my life was actually predetermined for me and while I made choices, these choices were orchestrated in such a way that I ended up where I am today...  in other words, I was supposed to end up here regardless of what I did to take me in another direction.

ALSO...  all my skills and natural abilities were given to me as a gift from our Creator.  I did not give myself these gifts nor did my parents...  so, they had to come from somewhere...  I am where I am for a reason...  and my purpose in life may not be shared with me but it will be made clear to me when it is appropriate...  until then, I just live my life.

Good Friday

Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy and Great Friday), and Black Friday.

Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox and Reformed traditions, observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. Communicants of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.

The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next on both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states. Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

The Reticular Activating System

The reticular activating system (RAS) is a network of neurons located in the brain stem that project anteriorly to the hypothalamus to mediate behavior, as well as both posteriorly to the thalamus and directly to the cortex for activation of awake, desynchronized cortical EEG patterns.  From: Textbook of Clinical Neurology (Third Edition), 2007

The reticular activating system spans an extensive portion of the brainstem. Most of the neurons comprising the midbrain reticular formation lie dorsal and lateral to the red nuclei. Complex interactions between multiple neurotransmitters modulate the action of the reticular activating system with both cholinergic and adrenergic neurotransmission having key roles. The reticular activating system's fundamental role is regulating arousal and sleep−wake transitions. The ascending reticular activating system projects to the intralaminar nuclei of the thalami, which projects diffusely to the cerebral cortex. The ascending projections of the reticular activating system enhance the attentive state of the cortex and facilitate conscious perception of sensory stimuli. Additionally, the collective role of the brainstem reticular formation is to regulate autonomic function, muscle reflexes, and tone. From:  Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences (second edition)

According to The Pacific Institute, the reticular activating system regulates mental motivation and the subconscious movement towards a goal or a destination through not just positive affirmation but actually believing that you deserve the goal...  I know this for a fact because I was sent to a 3 day class by my employer that was being taught by employees of The Pacific Institute.

It's a Plan

 

WOKING Up

 

Systemic Racism

 

Ain't This the Truth