Female Sports not TRANS

 

GREED: Power and Control

 

Over the past several years and only if you have consistently read my opinion postings, you will see that I have been rather negative of the US of A...  My negativity is predicated upon the FACT that I LOVE MY COUNTRY and have a personal and vested interest along with a steadfast desire to see it REMAIN GREAT.

BY FAR and under any form of measurement, the US of A is the best frigging country in the world.  We have more natural resources that any other country, more intellectual people, more entrepreneurs, more patents and creative leaders, more colleges and universities, the best military in the world, and FREEDOMS that the rest of the world WILL NEVER ENJOY...

My main concern with the US of A is that we have created a society, a culture, and an incredible mentality that revolves around GREED.  Subordinate to GREED is the desire for POWER AND CONTROL.

GREED - POWER - CONTROL

This is the new religious trilogy of our country and the sad thing that is going on here is that all of our marketing and advertising commercials revolve around and push a mentality of this trilogy.

It is my opinion that if we continue on this trajectory that the US of A will once and for all lose sight of those values that made it great in the first place.

There is nothing wrong with making a profit and wanting a better life for your family and children but we want MORE THAN JUST BETTER...  

For most Americans life is nothing more than a BUFFET...  birth is the price you have to pay in order to eat at this buffet...  and most people are gluttonous when eating at this buffet.  Consequently, we have an OBESITY problem in this country which will lead to health issues and a premature death.

THINK ABOUT IT...

Puzzles

 

HOW MANY ANIMALS DO YOU SEE?

Quantum Mechanics United with General Relativity

Scientists have revealed a radical theory that seeks to reconcile two pillars of modern physics – quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of general relativity. (CREDIT: Isaac Young)

In a cutting-edge development that has sent shockwaves through the scientific community, researchers at University College London (UCL) have unveiled a radical theory that seeks to reconcile two pillars of modern physics – quantum mechanics and Einstein's general theory of relativity.

These two theories, which have been the foundation of physics for over a century, have long been at odds with each other, and their unification has remained an elusive quest.

Today, we dive into the world of quantum gravity, a field of study that aims to bridge the gap between the quantum realm, which governs the behavior of particles at the smallest scales, and the macroscopic world, where gravity shapes the very fabric of spacetime.

While the prevailing consensus has been that Einstein's theory of gravity must be modified to fit within the framework of quantum theory, a new theory, coined as a "postquantum theory of classical gravity," challenges this assumption in a thought-provoking way.    READ MORE...

My Retired Life

 

My wife and I have been retired since 2015 or almost 9 years at the end of 2024.  Our health is not excellent but moderate to good when compared to other people our age (76/71).  

My wife is about to have her second hip replacement and has been in cancer remission for over five years.  She is suffering from severe arthritis in her spine, whereas I am a little worse off with a fused lower back (5 disks), heart disease (2009 heart attack), and I am currently under treatment for two cancers (lymphoma and melanoma).

While my illnesses may seem like a lot, I still feel fairly healthy from one day to the next except for daily fatigue.  Daily fatigue is a result of my current treatments plus the fact that I have been receiving treatments for sixteen years.  Symptoms build up in your body over a period of time.

My daily routine:

1. I am usually awake and out of the bed by 7:30/8:00 am.
2. After peeing and taking my thyroid pill, I give a treat to our three cats and let them outside.
3. Coffee is made and I watch FOX News for no more than two hours while I allow the caffeine to stimulate my bowels.
4. Breakfast is made and eaten while I work on my two daily blogs.
5. My blog activities usually take me to noon or 1:00pm.
6. My morning pills are taken.
7. Lunch is made
8. I work on my novels for 2-3 or 3-4 hours in the afternoon, in and around mowing the yard and/or weed eating (outside activities last 60-90 minutes).
9. There is sometimes an afternoon nap of 1-2 hours
10. Dinner is made.
11. A movie is watched in the evening, or I listen to an audible book.
12. I will read postings on "X" or watch a Dan Bongino podcast on Rumble.
13. Take my evening pills
14. Go to bed sometime between 9:00-10:00pm

Obviously, this routine is not perfectly consistent from one day to the next and will vary because there are all kinds of doctor's appointment I have to go to, like:

• family doctor
• oncologist
• dermatologist
• cardiologist
• treatments
• urologist
• physical therapy
• ENT visits
• Dentist

Sometimes, I drive my wife to Nashville for orthopedic visits at Vanderbilt, as she now prefers those doctors to the doctors in Knoxville.

My wife and I also go out shopping together sometimes, as well as out to dinner and or brunch no more than once a week.

I also walk around the neighborhood sometimes and visit with neighbors.

Then, my wife and I go on two weeklong vacations which has changed dramatically from 2015-2000 (before COVID) where we vacationed for a week every other month.

My wife and I have a laid back, not really wanting or needing much lifestyle.  We don't smoke and don't drink alcohol and feel no need to go to parties or out clubbing or dancing.  Neither of us like big city life.  We have all the entertainment we need at home through our WIFI fiber optic connection, ROKU device, laptops, ipads, and smart phones.

What underscores our lifestyle is the fact that we are DEBT FREE.  We do what we want, when we want.  We have worries about crime and violence in East TN nor do we worry about illegal immigrants invading our location.

• UT Medical Center is 45 minutes away
• Knoxville airport is 60 minutes away
• Grocery stores and gas stations are 1-2 miles away
• Restaurants are 10 miles or less away
• Smokey Mtns are 60 minutes away

There is plenty of entertainment, restaurants, gas stations, shopping areas, lakes, hiking trails, campgrounds, and picnic areas nearby where my wife and I have more than ample availability of activities.

RETIREMENT IS GOOD...

Our Political System

 Our political system here in the USA has been basically a two-party system since the 1800s more or less.  Those two parties are the Republicans and the Democrats.  

There is a very small independent party and while there have been several independents elected to Congress, they are in a minority and usually vote with the Democrats.

However, inside the Democratic Party, you have Progressive Democrats, Traditional Democrats, and Socialistic Democrats.  Within the Republican Party, traditional conservatives, religious conservatives, and pragmatic conservatives.

Unfortunately, all these political divisions, alone, are not strong enough to form several different parties that compete for the general public vote.  Consequently, and for the most part, the general public is completely dissatisfied with both political parties because neither party is really doing anything for the general public other than doing what THEY THINK IS BEST for their constituents or what will get them re-elected.

At the present time, the Democratic Party has the added support of the mainstream media, and numerous federal agencies, as well as numerous big tech companies to help them spread their message.  In so doing, there are numerous instances of where the conservative voice HAS BEEN CENSORED.

IF AND WHEN, the conservative party is so censored that they never again have an opportunity to control the Congress (House and/or Senate) or get elected to the Presidency, then America, BY DEFAULT, becomes a one party ruled country.

Here are examples of one party ruled countries:

• Russia
• China
• North Korea
• Iran
• Cuba

Obviously, there are more countries than this, but you should be getting the point.  A One-party rule country (even though there might be other parties) are either DICTATORSHIPS or COMMUNIST.

IS THIS THE KIND OF COUNTRY THAT YOU WANT TO TURN THE USA INTO???

General Relativity VS Quantum Mechanics | Why Are They Incompatible?

In The NEWS

US regulators sue TikTok over child privacy violations.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission filed the challenge against the video-sharing app and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, Friday. The regulators allege TikTok breached a federal law requiring services to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from children under 13. TikTok has roughly 170 million active US users, while ByteDance faces a legal deadline from the US government to sell TikTok or withdraw from the US market.



Harris secures Democratic nomination for president.

Vice President Kamala Harris made history Friday as the first Black woman and Asian American to become a presidential nominee from a major party in the US. Harris secured a majority of the votes (at least 2,350) needed for the nomination a day after voting opened. She will accept the nomination next week.



Hunter Biden to be sentenced in November for gun conviction.

The younger Biden became the first convicted child of a sitting US president in June when a jury found him guilty of three felony charges related to lying about his drug use in 2018 when purchasing a gun. Hunter Biden will be sentenced Nov. 13 in the gun case and faces a different trial in September for separate tax-related charges.



Intel shares plunge the most in 50 years.

Intel's shares fell 26% Friday, marking the chipmaker's second-largest single-day drop, behind a 31% drop in July 1974. The company's shares were trading at a level last seen in 2013. The decline came a day after Intel announced it would cut 15% of its workforce and pause dividends beginning in the fourth quarter as part of cost-cutting measures.



Chevron to relocate to Texas from California.

America's second-largest oil and gas company is moving its global headquarters from California—its home state for more than 140 years—to Houston, Texas, considered the US energy capital. The announcement comes weeks after Elon Musk said X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX would move their headquarters from California to Texas and follows a growing trend.



Tropical storm warning issued for parts of Florida.

As of this writing, a developing system in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is expected to turn into Tropical Storm Debby today and drench the west coast of Florida this weekend. Up to a foot of rain is possible in some areas of the state, with flash flooding and heavy rainfall to continue through next week.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Prisoner SWAP

 

After reflection upon the prisoner swap for several hours, not only have I come to the conclusion that we did the right thing, no matter WHO or WHAT we gave back to Russia.  

This time other NATO countries were involved, and we used our political, economic, and military power and intimidation to get them to agree to the deal...

This may come back to haunt us down the road, but we will deal with that if and when it ever happens.

In the meantime, we see and believe that Russia had arrested and illegally detained (based upon USA judicial rules of evidence) two American citizens - one of which may or may not have actually been a spy - but the charges were bogus, nonetheless.

What pops into my mind, are the bogus charges we levelled against Donald Trump in the hopes of showing the American people that he should not be a candidate for President.  Then, the juries who were seated for the trials used their bias to convict him of several crimes, that will be overturned upon appeal - obviously not caring about the rule of law or the integrity of our judicial system.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE USA AND RUSSIA IN THIS REGARD???

I would venture to say NOTHING...

Unfortunately, the case against Donald Trump was divided along political party lines which means HALF OF THE USA wants the USA to A CT LIKE RUSSIA when it comes to JUDICIAL LAW and perverting the law to attempt to eliminate political opponents.

For me, this is scary.

While many of the people involved in hating Trump are uneducated and ill-informed, the mainstream media and their political leaders (who are educated and well informed) have strongly influenced the way these people feel.

Again, it is hard to believe that something like this could happen in the USA.

It it not hard to believe that something like this could happen in Russia.

Is the USA, for a variety of reasons, moving into the direction of becoming more and more like their global enemies?

If they are...  while technology is moving us forwards, politics and the media are moving us backwards when it comes to power and control over the people.

Soon the world will all be like RUSSIA...   and while it may take several decades, it is bound to happen based upon our current course of actions.

Somewhat Political

 

Meditation and Mindfulness

Since mindfulness is something, you can practice at home for free, it often sounds like the perfect tonic for stress and mental health issues.

Mindfulness is a type of Buddhist-based meditation in which you focus on being aware of what you're sensing, thinking, and feeling in the present moment.


The first recorded evidence for this, found in India, is over 1,500 years old. The Dharmatrāta Meditation Scripture, written by a community of Buddhists, describes various practices and includes reports of symptoms of depression and anxiety that can occur after meditation.


It also details cognitive anomalies associated with episodes of psychosis, dissociation, and depersonalisation (when people feel the world is "unreal").


In the past eight years there has been a surge of scientific research in this area. These studies show that adverse effects are not rare.


A 2022 study, using a sample of 953 people in the US who meditated regularly, showed that over 10 percent of participants experienced adverse effects which had a significant negative impact on their everyday life and lasted for at least one month.


According to a review of over 40 years of research that was published in 2020, the most common adverse effects are anxiety and depression. These are followed by psychotic or delusional symptoms, dissociation or depersonalization, and fear or terror.      READ MORE...

Educational???

"Stewardesses"

is the longest word typed with only the left hand


And "lollipop"
is the longest word typed with your right hand.
(Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?)


No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.




"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
(Are you doubting this?)



Our eyes are always the same size from birth,
but our nose and ears

never stop growing.

The sentence:
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
uses every letter of the alphabet.
(Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right?




The words 'racecar,'
'kayak'
and 'level'
are the same whether they are read
left to right or right to left (palindromes).
(Yep, I knew you were going to "do" this one.)

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
(You're not doubting this, are you?)
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
(Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u)

TYPEWRITER is the longest word
that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
(All you typists are going to test this out)



A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.



A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
(Some days that's about what my memory span is.)



A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.



A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.



A snail can sleep for three years.
(I know some people that could do this too.!)

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that also)


Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.


In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.





If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.




Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors





Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!


Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.


The cruise liner, QE 2

moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.


The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
(Good thing he did that.)


The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.




There are more chickens than people in the world.


Winston Churchill

was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.



Bonus!! All the ants in Africa weigh more than ALL the Elephants!!

Now you know (a little) more than you did before!!


The Rain-Thomas Kinkade



This is a Thomas Kinkade painting It's rumored to carry a miracle! They say if you pass this on, you will receive a miracle.

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch standalone sports streamer Venu at $42.99 per month this fall; Venu will include ESPN networks as well as ABC, Fox, TNT, and more (More)

> Universal Pictures acquires rights to Britney Spears biopic film with "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. Chu to direct (More)

> Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reportedly to divorce after two years of marriage (More) | Cardi B files for divorce from fellow rapper and husband Offset (More)


Science & Technology
> New 3D-printed Band-Aid can be applied inside the body, in areas ranging from the heart to joints; technology may help internal injuries heal faster and improve drug delivery (More)

> Researchers discover the evolution of thorns on plants is controlled by a single gene; feature has developed separately at least 28 known times, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution (More)

> Computer simulations suggest use of self-driving cars could eliminate traffic jams, even if such vehicles were just 5% of traffic; at 60% or higher, flows became more efficient to using traffic lights (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.4%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -2.3%) after latest round of economic data—including on jobless claims and factory activity—spurs concerns of a slowing economy (More)

> Intel shares fall over 18% in after-hours trading after chipmaker announces it is cutting more than 15% of workforce, or over 15,000 jobs, and suspending dividends starting in Q4 (More)

> Apple beats revenue and earnings estimates, sees revenue rise 5% in Q3 (More) | Amazon shares fall in after-hours trading after slightly missing revenue estimates; company still saw 10% year-over-year rise in revenue, partly due to a boost in sales from online advertising unit (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Democratic Party kicks off virtual roll call yesterday to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presumptive presidential nominee; delegates have until Monday to return their ballots (More)

> Israel says Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed last month in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip; Hamas has yet to confirm Deif's death (More)

> US Justice Department alleges Texas Juvenile Justice Department routinely violated constitutional rights of juveniles at five of its detention facilities; finds instances of sexual abuse, discrimination, and use of excessive force (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Lost its INFLUENCE

 Whether you want to admit it or not or you may not even care, but the USA has LOST ITS GLOBAL INFLUENCE...

This loss has been gradual and taken place over decades starting in the 1960s.

The only thing that the USA leads the world in is the amount and number of nuclear weapons that we have and our rapidly declining FREEDOMS...

In the 1960s, the USA led the world in:

1. Military Strength
2. Political Freedom
3. Judicial Equity
4. K-12 Education
5. Employment Opportunities
6. Manufacturing
7. Growing Economy
8. Amateur Athletes
9. Agricultural Production
10. College and Universities
11. Patents & Trademarks
12. Inventions & Technology

In the 1980s, Japan was manufacturing better- and high-quality products than the USA and began taking away market share in:

• Electronics
• Automotive

In the 1990s, we lost our number one global ranking in education K-12 and we are currently ranked as #15 when compared to the rest of the world.  

The India Institute of Technology is considered to be better education than what is being offered at MIT.

In 2000s, China has been pumping money into its military and now has a larger military force than the USA and many military strategists are now saying that the USA would have a hard time defeating China if there was a war between the two countries.

Between 1960 and 2000, the USA was engaged in some OFF THE BOOKS black operations in South America, Central America, and Africa in the hopes of using military and economic influence to force them to accept and support our brand of Democracy.

As a result, there is a huge amount of animosity built up AGAINST THE USA as a result of that pressure.

Most of the Muslims in the Middle East want to destroy the USA because of their support of Israel and our previous bad actions.  Terrorist organization have targeted the USA for ongoing terrorist activities and are using our OPEN BORDERS to send terrorists into this country for future activities.

BRICS is an organization composed of:  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa who have vowed to DESTROY THE US DOLLAR when it comes to international trade.

BECAUSE OF OUR NUCLEAR ARSENAL THE USA DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD FEELS TOWARDS THEM...