A Selfish Link

 FROM RICE UNIVERSITY...

One of nature's most prolific cannibals could be hiding in your pantry, and biologists have used it to show how social structure affects the evolution of selfish behavior.

Researchers revealed that less selfish behavior evolved under living conditions that forced individuals to interact more frequently with siblings. While the finding was verified with insect experiments, Rice University biologist Volker Rudolf said the evolutionary principle could be applied to study any species, including humans.

In a study published online this week in Ecology Letters, Rudolf, longtime collaborator Mike Boots of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues showed they could drive the evolution of cannibalism in Indian meal moth caterpillars with simple changes to their habitats.

Also known as weevil moths and pantry moths, Indian meal moths are common pantry pests that lay eggs in cereals, flour and other packaged foods. As larvae, they're vegetarian caterpillars with one exception: They sometimes eat one another, including their own broodmates.

In laboratory tests, researchers showed they could predictably increase or decrease rates of cannibalism in Indian meal moths by decreasing how far individuals could roam from one another, and thus increasing the likelihood of "local" interactions between sibling larvae. In habitats where caterpillars were forced to interact more often with siblings, less selfish behavior evolved within 10 generations.

Rudolf, a professor of biosciences at Rice, said increased local interactions stack the deck against the evolution of selfish behaviors like cannibalism.  READ MORE

What Don't You Know?

There are two ways to look at this question...

First... one could say, "I don't know what I don't know..."  and that would be the end of it...  however, that is an arrogant answer and belies the fact that the person does not want to have to think about the question.

Second...  one could say, "there are a lot of things that I don't know even though I know that I don't know them..."  and this second answer is more like what the question was intended for in the first place.

The whole point of this exercise is INTROSPECTION and if you are not willing to introspect then you are not willing to understand all of the complexities that exist within your mind and it beleaguered personality that does not really change throughout one's lifetime.

• What changes is one's thoughts and actions...
• What changes is one's values and morals...
• What changes is one's ethics and integrity... 

I have been a conservative liberal all of my life and no matter what I do or do not do, that focus will never change.  My liberal views are pretty much in line with other liberals in that...

1. I favor a woman's right to choose an abortion or not
2. I favor the legalization of marijuana and other illegal drugs
3. I favor a space program and believe in extraterrestrials
4. I favor everyone spending two years in the military
5. I favor the elimination of tax loopholes
6. I favor a flat tax with no exemptions and no sheltered money
7. I favor a strong military
8. I favor no speed limits on interstate highways
9. I favor no out-of-pocket medical expenses
10. I favor an increase in Social Security payouts
11. I favor having an valid ID for voting
12. I favor rewriting the US Constitution

It seems rather OBVIOUS to me that our FOUNDING FATHERS had no idea what society would or might be like in 2021...  even though they created some governmental concepts that are timeless like the 3 branches of government.

On the other hand, the Electoral College was established because our Founding Fathers did not trust the general public to educate themselves about politics.  And, while that may have been the case through the 1900's, it is no longer TRUE or VALID today.

Our Founding Fathers for the most part were RACISTS and created a RACIST CULTURE and a RACIST Constitution that is not reflective of the cultural or ethnic dynamics of the United States in 2021.

SO...

while I do not know what a NEW CONSTITUTION should include, I do know that the old constitution needs refurbishing.

Not To Worry Man

Proud Mary  by CCR 

"And I never lost one minute of sleepin',

Worryin' 'bout the way things might have been..."

My entire life and my entire working career of 45 years, was spent following those lyrics and not because those lyrics meant something to me but because that was just my personality at the time and still is.

I don't care if you like the way I am dressed, the way I look, what I say, or how I act and I certainly don't wish that I had done something else during my life of 73 years.  Now, I have recollected how my life might have evolved had I done this or not and/or not done this or that but I never wished that I had done something else with my life.

I am not wealthy and I don't care that I am not wealthy.  I look at what the wealthy do and their actions and behaviors don't impress me...  even riding on a private jet with no one but yourself...  I can just imagine how enjoyable that is...  especially since you don't have to go through security and stand in line until your ZONE is called.

I know a person who has a 12,000 square foot home and I often wonder how much time he spends in each of the rooms in his house or if there are rooms he has never been in since it was built.

I have a house with a garage, a kitchen, a porch, a living room/dining room, a bedroom, and a bathroom, and another room that is used for our 3 cats that I guess you might say could be seen as a bedroom.  I helped a friend of mine build the deck that we have out back that surrounds our ABOVE GROUND POOL (much cheaper than an inground pool and the maintenance is less) and our Hot Tub.  Both the pool and the Hot Tub are 12 years old and will probably last another 10 years because we take care of the damn things.

I don't need nor do I want a pool into which I can dive...  who gives a shit.  I get in the pool to cool off and exercise using the water as resistance and I get into the Hot Tub to relax my muscles, my mind, and my attitude.

When I replaced some of my decking last summer, I simply used my sander and removed about 1/8 of an inch or so of the rotten wood and put the same decking back where in the place from which I had removed it.  Decking is a good 3/4 inch thick and there is no reason to waste wood...  or to have someone else do it for me...

AND...  IF I WAS WEALTHY I WOULD STILL WANT TO DO IT MYSELF BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY MY PARENTS RAISED ME.

Just Chillin'

I recently found an online radio station that play CLASSIC ROCK 1964 to 1971 and it reminds me of my transition from High School in Cairo, Egypt to College in North Carolina to the US Navy in Norfolk, VA all of this during the peak of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Woman's Liberation Movement where everyone spent a lot of time and energy burning bras, drinking a little wine, and smoking a little weed.  My time in the military did little for me except allowed me to buy stereo and camera equipment at wholesale prices and burned into my mind that NOT WANTING TO BE IN COLLEGE had been a monumental mistake.  However, the time I did spend in the military provided me with the GI BILL and I finished my BA and MBA degrees without costing me ONE DAMN CENT except my time spent in class and studying and driving to and from campus.

I remember arguing with my College Advisor about my Senior Thesis (yes...  back in the 60's seniors had to write a thesis in order to graduate and receive a BA degree) and how he thought there was not enough substance with my idea.  I had wanted to take the following groups:  The Beatles, The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and The Band and taking ALL THEIR SONG LYRICS analyze them using all the approaches that my English Degree had taught me to use when analyzing the great works of literature including prose and poetry.

This might have been the main reason why I left college and enlisted in the Navy...  I cut off my nose to spite my face...  it seems.

And...  when I returned to that same college, a senior thesis was no longer required...  PISSER...

My English degree did very little for me except open the door to management positions because I had earned a 4 year degree.  My first position was DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT EFFICACY FOR A MICROBIOLOGICAL MEDIA MANUFACTURER...  WTF...  but, a job is a job.

It's a frigging FLAAAAASHBACK....  The Doors...  Light My Fire...

Russian Cosmism

Russian cosmism is a philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in Russia at the turn of the 19th century, and again, at the beginning of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, largely driven by fiction writers such as Jules Verne and Herbert Wells as well as philosophical movements like the Russian cosmism.

Cosmism entailed a broad theory of natural philosophy, combining elements of religion and ethics with a history and philosophy of the origin, evolution, and future existence of the cosmos and humankind. It combined elements from both Eastern and Western philosophic traditions as well as from the Russian Orthodox Church.

Cosmism was one of the influences on Proletkult, and after the October Revolution, the term came to be applied to "...the poetry of such writers as Mikhail Gerasimov and Vladimir Kirillov...: emotional paeans to physical labor, machines, and the collective of industrial workers ... organized around the image of the universal 'Proletarian', who strides forth from the earth to conquer planets and stars."  This form of cosmism, along with the writings of Nikolai Fyodorov, was a strong influence on Andrei Platonov.

Many ideas of the Russian cosmists were later developed by those in the transhumanist movement.  Victor Skumin argues that the Culture of Health will play an important role in the creation of a human spiritual society into the Solar System.

The Culture of Health is the basic science about Spiritual Humanity. It studies the perspectives of harmonious development of "Spiritual man" and "Spiritual ethnos" as a conscious creator of the State of Light into the territory of the Solar System" (by Skumin).

Who Are Our Ancestors?

According to Mike Wall who writes for SPACE.com, we may all be Martians.

Evidence is building that Earth life originated on Mars and was brought to this planet aboard a meteorite, said biochemist Steven Benner of The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida.

An oxidized form of the element molybdenum, which may have been crucial to the origin of life, was likely available on the Red Planet's surface long ago, but unavailable on Earth, said Benner, who presented his findings today (Aug. 28; Aug. 29 local time) at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Florence, Italy.

"It’s only when molybdenum becomes highly oxidized that it is able to influence how early life formed," Benner said in a statement. "This form of molybdenum couldn’t have been available on Earth at the time life first began, because 3 billion years ago, the surface of the Earth had very little oxygen, but Mars did. It’s yet another piece of evidence which makes it more likely life came to Earth on a Martian meteorite, rather than starting on this planet."

Organic compounds are the building blocks of life, but they need a little help to make things happen. Simply adding energy such as heat or light turns a soup of organic molecules into a tarlike substance, Benner said.

That's where oxidized molybdenum comes in. Inserting it or boron, another element, into the mix would help organics make the leap to life, Benner added.

"Analysis of a Martian meteorite recently showed that there was boron on Mars; we now believe that the oxidized form of molybdenum was there, too," he said.  READ MORE

Monkeys Have Conscious Experiences Too

 FROM YALE UNIVERSITY...

When humans look out at a visual landscape like a sunset or a beautiful overlook, we experience something — we have a conscious awareness of what that scene looks like. This awareness of the visual world around us is central to our everyday existence, but are humans the only species that experiences the world consciously? Or do other non-human animals have the same sort of conscious experience we do?

Scientists and philosophers have asked versions of this question for millennia, yet finding answers — or even appropriate ways to ask the question — has proved elusive. But a team of Yale researchers recently devised an ingenious way to try to solve this riddle.


Writing on March 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they make the case that one non-human species — the rhesus macaque — also has a conscious awareness of the world around it.

“People have wondered for a long time whether animals experience the world the way we do, but it’s been difficult to figure out a good way to test this question empirically,” said Moshe Shay Ben-Haim, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale and first author of the paper.

Researchers have known for a long time that people can be influenced by unconscious subliminal cues — visual stimuli presented just outside of our threshold for conscious awareness, said Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale who is co-senior author of the study along with her colleague Steve Chang, associate professor of psychology and of neuroscience, and Ran Hassin of Hebrew University.

“We tend to show different patterns of learning when presented with subliminal stimuli than we do for consciously experienced, or supraliminal stimuli,” she said.

If monkeys show the same “double dissociation” pattern that humans do, it would mean that monkeys probably experience the supraliminally presented stimuli in the same way as people do — as a conscious visual experience.

Ben-Haim, Santos, and their team thought of a novel way to explore whether macaques also exhibit a difference in learning when stimuli are experienced consciously versus non-consciously.

In a series of experiments, they had monkeys and humans guess whether a target image would appear on the left or right side of a screen. Before the target appeared, participants received a visual cue — a small star— on the side opposite of where the target would subsequently appear. The researchers varied whether the cue was presented supraliminally or subliminally. 

When the cue was presented for a few seconds, human participants successfully learned that the target would appear in the opposite location from the cue. But when the cue was presented subliminally — quickly enough that it escaped people’s conscious perception — participants showed a different pattern of performance; they continued to choose the side that was subliminally cued, failing to learn the rule that the cue predicted the opposite side.          READ MORE

Rainy Day Blues

A light rain fell from the sky in the Tennessee Valley for most of the day, keeping most of us inside instead of doing necessary chores outside.  The forecast for the Valley for the rest of the week including the weekend calls for rain the next three days and given previous forecasts this amount of rain may or may not happen.  But, as the day winds down and people begin the rush hour drive from work back to home, the sun is out and if it continues to remain out, then around 7:00 pm or so, I should be able to mow the back side of our lawn which grows the fastest and is the largest section.  With a riding mower, it only takes about an hour.

However...  in our neighborhood no one has been outside at all today, even when the sun appeared...  which is normal for our neighbors as the 20 years we have lived here, very few people venture outside when the weather is nice, unless it is a holiday and they are entertaining family and/or friends.  My wife and I like it that way because we spend as much time as we can outside when the weather is nice with the understanding that she will spend more time than me, especially when it is humid.

AND...  as I have mentioned before...  I much prefer living out in the rural areas of East TN rather than in any kind of city proper location.  It is just too crowded for me in cities, even when the cities are small...  it seems like everyone like to roam around cities just looking at shit...  maybe hoping to run into friends or maybe not...  but, they got to BE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE in order to live a fulfilling life.  I don't need that kind of companionship...  outside of having a spouse and/or children who visit.

Our Divided Country

The 2020 US Presidential Election was so close that it virtually divided this country right down the middle with 50% being Democrats and 50% being Republicans.  Consequently, the elected President clearly DID NOT HAVE A MANDATE from the American People.  The Congress of the US is also closely divided...  with the Senate 50 to 50 and only the Vice President can break the tie and the House has a Democratic majority of THREE SEATS.

HOWEVER,

each party claims that they speak for a MAJORITY OF AMERICANS...

The Democrats say a majority of Americans favor what they are doing

The Republicans say a majority of Americans favor what they are doing

BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES ARE LYING TO AMERICANS...

It is for this reason that I DON'T TRUST POLITICANS and have not trusted them for a long time...

The Republicans say we have an immigration crisis at our southern border

The Democrats say we have immigration concerns at our southern border

The Republicans say we are spending too much money

The Democrats say we are not spending enough money

The Republicans are saying that China is our economic/military enemy

The Democrats are saying that China is our economic/military friend

The Republicans are saying we should not raise taxes

The Democrats are saying we should raise taxes

Oil and Gas Shut Downs

FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas lease sales from the nation’s vast public lands and waters in his first days in office, citing worries about climate change. Now his administration has to figure out what do with the multibillion-dollar program without crushing a significant sector of the U.S. economy — and while fending off sharp criticism from congressional Republicans and the oil industry.

The leasing ban is only temporary, although officials have declined to say how long it will last. And it’s unclear how much legal authority the government has to stop drilling on about 23 million acres (9 million hectares) previously leased to energy companies.

Here are some questions hanging over Biden’s Interior Department as it launches a months-long review of the government’s petroleum sales with a virtual forum Thursday.

WHY IS BIDEN TARGETING OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES?

Burning of oil, gas and coal from government-owned lands and waters is a top source of U.S. emissions, accounting for 24% of the nation’s greenhouse gases. Oil and gas account for the biggest chunk of human-caused fossil fuel emissions from federal lands following a drilling surge under former President Donald Trump.

Emission reductions from a permanent leasing ban would be relatively small -- about 100 million tons (91 million metric tons) annually, or less than 1% of global fossil fuel emissions, according to a study by a nonprofit research group.

But environmentalists and others who want more aggressive action against climate change say a ban would nudge the economy in a new direction. Biden wants to substitute fossil fuel production and consumption with policies that promote renewable energy on public lands, such as wind and solar power.

“The federal government is a huge player here. The government has market power,” said attorney Max Sarinsky with New York University Law School’s Institute for Policy Integrity. “If you restrict the supply (of oil and gas), you alter the market and you create a better environment for more sustainable fuels.”         READ MORE

Blacks Versus Whites

THE PROGRESSIVE AND/OR LIBERAL DEMOCRATS WANT TO DIVIDE WHITES AND BLACKS...

If these two ethnics groups are separated, then the Democrats can remained in power making the claim that they are needed to fix the problem and need to spend more money in order to do that.

If blacks and whites are united, then there is a good possibility that they will no longer need to be controlled by Democrats.

PERSONALLY...  I had no problems with blacks throughout my entire 73 years of life so far...   UNTIL the Democrats started making the claim that WHITES had the advantage over BLACKS because of racial privilege that favors whites in the United States...  I was offended and pissed off when I heard this...  and resented the fact that somehow WHITES were responsible for what their relatives did 200 years ago.

We have some BAD WHITES who HATE BLACKS and we have some BAD BLACKS who HATE WHITES, but that is no reason to change everything for which the United States stands.

This reminds me of what I read about that was happening in NAZI GERMANY with the JEWS who were looked upon as inferior.

IF WE LET THIS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN HISTORY WILL ONE DAY RECORD HOW IGNORANTLY WRONG WE WERE...

FIGHT BACK

As a Liberal Democrat who became a Conservative Liberal Democrat (if that is even possible), I am OFFENDED by:

• White Supremacists
• Black Lives Matter
• ANTIFA
• White Privilege
• Black Reparations
• Cancel Culture
• Critical Race Theory

As a 73 year old Retiree who is also a Vietnam Veteran, I have had enough of PEOPLE (both white and black) who think that there is something wrong with the United States and it needs to be fixed.

Aside from the fact that illegal immigration is bringing in DRUGS and TERRORISM, these frigging illegal immigrants are coming to the United States because the United States is a GREAT PLACE in which to work and live and retire....  not a bad place to live as these LIBERALS claim...

TIME TO FIGHT BACK CONSERVATIVES...

Nation of Islam

 From the Southern Poverty Law Center...

Since its founding in 1930, the Nation of Islam (NOI) has grown into one of the wealthiest and best-known organizations in black America. Its theology of innate black superiority over whites and the deeply racist, anti-semitic and anti-LGBT rhetoric of its leaders have earned the NOI a prominent position in the ranks of organized hate.
In Its Own Words

“These same Jews that are attacking the Minister are the blood relatives of the slave ship owners.”

– Nuri Muhammad, “Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy the Black Family,” November 2018

“Also pushing the federal government are the wicked members of the Jewish community, who have opposed every good deed and all of the good works of a good man.”

– Richard B. Muhammad, “Straight Words,” Final Call, Volume 37 Number 35, Aug. 14, 2018

“These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood that is seeding the American people and the people of the world and bringing you down in moral strength. … It’s the wicked Jews, the false Jews, that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality. It’s the wicked Jews, false Jews, that make it a crime for you to preach the word of God, then they call you homophobic!”
– Louis Farrakhan, Saviours’ Day speech, Feb. 26, 2006

“Who are the slumlords in the Black community? The so-called Jews. … Who is it sucking our blood in the Black community? A white imposter Arab and a white imposter Jew.”
– Speech by NOI national official Khalid Muhammad, Nov. 29, 1993

“Jews have been conclusively linked to the greatest criminal endeavor ever undertaken against an entire race of people … the black African Holocaust. … The effects of this unspeakable tragedy are still being felt among the peoples of the world at this very hour.”
– The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews (NOI book), 1991

“The Jews don’t like Farrakhan, so they call me Hitler. Well, that’s a good name. Hitler was a very great man. He wasn’t a great man for me as a black person, but he was a great German. Now, I’m not proud of Hitler’s evils against Jewish people, but that’s a matter of record. He raised Germany up from nothing. Well, in a sense you could say there’s a similarity in that we are raising our people up from nothing.”
– Louis Farrakhan, radio interview, March 11, 1984

“Integration is against the Desire and Will of God Who Wants and must Do that which is written He Will Come and Do: Restore the earth to its rightful owner (Black Man).”

– Elijah Muhammad, “Our Saviour Has Arrived,” 1974
Background

For what would become one of the largest and best-organized groups in the history of black America, the Nation of Islam (NOI) had a relatively obscure beginning. Founded by a mysterious clothing salesman in the ghettoes of Detroit in 1930, NOI was considered an insignificant, if highly media-worthy, “voodoo sect” throughout much of the 1930s and 1940s.

Founder Wallace D. Fard (according to the FBI, other aliases include Farad Muhammad, Wallace Dodd, Wallace Ford, Wallie D. Ford, Wallei Ford and Wallace Farad) and his “messenger” and successor Elijah Muhammad preached a hybrid creed with its own myths and doctrines. These held that over 6,000 years ago, the black race lived in a paradise on earth that was destroyed by the evil wizard Yacub, who created the white “devil” through a scientific process called “grafting.” Fard and his disciple preached of a coming apocalyptic overthrow of white domination, insisting that the dominion of evil was to end with God’s appearance on earth in the person of Fard.

Following this, NOI predicts an epic struggle in which the Nation of Islam will play a key role in preparing and educating the Original People, who ruled the earth in peace and prosperity until Yacub’s “blue-eyed devils” came along to gum things up. The Nation of Islam teaches that intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited. This is point 10 of the official platform, “What the Muslims Want,” published in 1965.

Fard’s FBI file concludes he was born in New Zealand on February 26, 1891, to a British father and Polynesian mother. The California Bureau of Identification and Investigation had Fard listed as Wallace Ford. Michigan State Police and the Los Angeles Police Department had him listed under Wallace Farad and Wallie D. Ford. After determining that all individuals shared the same fingerprint, the FBI found that “in all cases he is listed as Caucasian.”    READ MORE

Well... well... well... Cancel Culture

While Coca Cola and Delta are being influenced by the cancel culture not to have anything to do with Georgia or it brand of Southern Politics, it would appear that the Professional Golfers in Georgia are not that TEED-OFF and are deciding to hit that little white ball around the green grass despite having to do without being able to drink in Coca Cola products.

It would appear that golfers are FLIPPING A BIG FAT BIRD to the cancel culture as the rest of us should be doing instead of caving in to these assholes.

I, for one, have decided not to drink any Coca Cola products ever again...  but, the fact of the matter is that I stopped drinking coke years ago because of the taste...  and, ever since then I have been drink PEPSI which in my opinion is a much better soft drink...  although, I prefer unsweetened tea.

As far as Delta is concerned...  it pisses me off that they have allowed themselves to be DOPED by the cancel culture, especially since Delta is the only airlines on which I like to fly.  I have a Delta American Express credit card and will continue to rack up points by using it, but do not plan to fly Delta ever again.

I am not much for the cancel culture nor do I support anyone who supports the cancel culture.  It is sad that the cancel culture is an off shoot of the BLM movement because that is a movement that I would have supported had they not turned into assholes also.

While I personally detest GOLF, I am supportive of the golfers who have decided to play through the controversy.

ALSO...  MLB is a sport that I grew tired of, the minute I entered high school and have not cared much for that sport ever since.  I much prefer basketball and football and might have liked soccer if I had ever known how to play the damn game.

In the future, I will SUPPORT GEORGIA anyway that I can...  and, I say this because the cancel culture has DIVIDED AMERICA and I will always be on the side against THEM...

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.