All Creatures Great and Small

A Divided Country

I want to start by saying that America is a great country...  but, that could cause some confusion since
there are THREE AMERICAS...

• United States of America
• Central America
• South America

And...  the reality that people living in all three of these countries call themselves Americans.

So...  the United States of America is a great country but she might not ALWAYS BE A GREAT COUNTRY.

Why is that a possibility?

Because of the threat of China which many of us don't see as a problem because they do not appear to be as great a threat as Russia and perhaps the Middle East or North Korea.

HOWEVER...
China is only as strong as we are divided...

Yes, we are divided politically but we have always been divided politically and sometimes we work together very well and sometimes we don't...  but, that is not the division that is going to hurt us the most...  and, while the wealth gap seems to be the most prominent issue as to why we are divided is SUBORDINATE to whites versus blacks.

BLM or Black Lives Matter is causing a divide in this country that like the CIVIL WAR will be slow to heal.  80% of the USA is white and while that percentage could change over the years ahead it is likely to remain the strongest percentage as long as the USA exists, even under another name if that ever happens.

Among the wealthy there might be black/white unity but below that financial level is a hatred that has been building in the hearts of the black race that will not be satisfied by just passing laws and forcing companies to treat them differently or at least better than they had been treating them.

This hatred in the hearts of the black race in America can be found:

• in the lyrics of their rap songs
• in their anger in the streets
• in the way they respect the flag
• in the way they respect the National Anthem
• in the way they talk to and about white
• in the sermons from their churches
• in the rhetoric from their leaders
• in the displays in their cultural center
• in the way they honor their anti-white heroes
• in the way they blame today's whites for slavery

ETHNIC WHITES individually and collectively will reject the way the blacks will try to force them to accept Black Equality...   just like they have rejected WHITE EQUALITY because ETHIC WHITES know that in America there can never be equality except in birth and death.

SOME WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN OTHERS

Remembering Obama's Presidency

OBAMA PRESIDENT 2009-2017

Barack Obama was President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 or 8 years.

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician and attorney who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. Wikipedia

What did Obama do for the Economy?
The economic policy of the Barack Obama administration was characterized by moderate tax increases on higher income Americans, designed to fund health care reform, reduce the federal budget deficit, and decrease income inequality. His first term (2009–2013) included measures designed to address the Great Recession and Subprime mortgage crisis, which began in 2007. These included a major stimulus package, banking regulation, and comprehensive healthcare reform. As the economy improved and job creation continued during his second term (2013–2017), the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire for the highest income taxpayers and a spending sequester (cap) was implemented, to further reduce the deficit back to typical historical levels. The number of persons without health insurance was reduced by 20 million, reaching a record low level as a percent of the population. By the end of his second term, the number of persons with jobs, real median household income, stock market, and real household net worth were all at record levels, while the unemployment rate was well below historical average.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

ATTENTION:  Look at the above chart and you will see that Obama did nothing to help improve higher positions among blacks from 2009-2017 while Asians and Hispanics were increasing substantially...  why do you think that was?

AND...  wasn't Joe Biden part of that decision making process?

BTW, the above chart was used in an article in July 2020 about Systemic Racism in America...  And so, if racism is systemic then it cannot be blamed on President Trump.  It must be blamed on the Presidents going back to 2004 (according to this chart) that PERPETUATED SYSTEMIC RACISM IN AMERICA AND OBAMA WAS PART OF THAT PROCESS...

Conceptualizing Infinity

Infinity – often denoted by the symbol, ∞ represents something that is boundless or endless, or else something that is larger than any real or natural number. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions among philosophers. Wikipedia

Can you imagine BOUNDLESS?  ...  what about ENDLESS?

Before we go any further, let me introduce Entropy into the situation.

What is entropy?

Entropy is a lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.

So, can you have INFINITY and ENTROPY at the same time?
And, if that is possible then infinity will gradually decline into disorder... and what then?

According to Quora.com:   A microstate is a particular way particles that make up the system can have different positions and momenta and still yield the same macroscopic measurements such as temperature and pressure. Since no finite system can have an infinite number of microstates, it's impossible for the entropy of the system to be infinite.

In short, INFINITY is something that NEVER ENDS...

Yet, mankind is predicated upon the fact that there is a BEGINNING and that there is an END.  But, infinity and entropy cannot exist at the same time and yet entropy is a scientific fact whereas infinity is not.

Another contradiction is the notion that OUR UNIVERSE is ENDLESS and what we know now is that our UNIVERSE is still EXPANDING...  but, what is it expanding into?  And, because it is still expanding does this now confirm an ENDLESS UNIVERSE?

Additionally, religious scholars believe that there is an ENDLESS LIFE after death in HEAVEN...  but, there is not proof of that either.

SYSTEMIC RACISM IN AMERICA

PROTESTERS IN HARLEM 30 MAY 2020

YES...  we have systemic racism in this country (the United States of America) but it did not start with President Trump being elected in 2016...   it started many years ago...  before WWII and before WWI and before the 1900's...  long before any of us were ever born or conceived in the eyes of our parents before they were married.

AND...  guess what???

BOTH THE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS TOGETHER, IN COLLABORATION, HAVE ALLOWED IT TO CONTINUE... 

Racism in America is both institutional and structural (see below)...


BUSINESS INSIDER
July 8, 2020

26 simple charts to show friends and family who aren't convinced racism is still a problem in America

Nationwide protests in recent weeks have rekindled a roaring public discourse about racial inequality in America.

George Floyd's death in police custody on May 25 let loose a groundswell of public rage about the way Black Americans are policed. But it also sparked a deeper conversation about the way they experience all aspects of modern life, whether it's underrepresentation in college attainment rates, or over-representation in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Extensive academic research and data collected by the federal government and researchers has documented numerous ways that Black Americans experience life in the United States differently from their white counterparts.

It's called "systemic" racism because it's ingrained in nearly every way people move through society in the policies and practices at institutions like banks, schools, companies, government agencies, and law enforcement.

Systemic Racism includes the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions, which result in the exclusion or promotion of designated groups. It differs from overt discrimination in that no individual intent is necessary. (Toronto Mayor's Committee on Community and Race Relations. Race Relations: Myths and Facts)

It manifests itself in two ways:

• institutional racism: racial discrimination that derives from individuals carrying out the dictates of others who are prejudiced or of a prejudiced society
• structural racism: inequalities rooted in the system-wide operation of a society that excludes substantial numbers of members of particular groups from significant participation in major social institutions. (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 352)

Sun Like Stars for Earth Like Planets

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917, but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. This was followed by the confirmation of a different planet, originally detected in 1988. Wikipedia

It is an exoplanet that might offers life and if that is the case then mankind might be able to inhabit an exoplanet like they inhabit the earth...

Kepler-452b is an exoplanet orbiting the Sun-like star Kepler-452 about 1,402 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. It was identified by the Kepler space telescope, and its discovery was announced by NASA on 23 July 2015. Wikipedia

It was first thought that Kepler-452b might be livable but that was later decided not to be the case because of the atmosphere in part but mainly because of the gravity which was twice as strong as earth's gravity. We could get down to the planet but it would be almost impossible for us to leave or two live since all objects would weigh twice as much as they weigh on earth.

But, instead of looking for earth-like planets, we should be looking for Sun-like stars.

Why?

Because, the sun is the most critical aspect.  If a planet is too close to the sun, it will be too hot.  If it is far away, it will be too cold.  PLUS, if the sun-like star is too big or too small, conditions on earth-like planets will not be livable either.

Therefore, we should look for the sun-like star first.

An international team of astronomers has discovered that Tau Ceti, one of the closest and most Sun-like stars, may host five planets, including one in the star's habitable zone. So far, this is our best shot at finding an earth-like planet and may prove that life can and is possible on planets other than earth.

Biden's Silence

Are You Superstitious?

Another Morning in East TN

When I was a boy growing up in Alexandria, VA, Labor Day Weekend marked the end of summer because as soon as the weekend was over, we returned to public education and while the weekend was always enjoyable, the threat of going back to school was hanging over everyone's head even though most of the kids my age never gave that reality much thought until it actually happened.  Today, in most States, public education returns in the middle of August and because of the Corona Virus, those schools that do have students in their classrooms will be totally different than when I was a boy.

STINK BUGS ARE LIKE POLITICIANS

It is easy to remember things like this because being retired and having few hobbies or friends that I see regularly, I have nothing much else to do but remember.

However, for some of us here in East TN, the end of summer does not just mark the return of public education and a gradual decline of the heat, but the return of STINK BUGS.

According to TN State University, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a invasive pest of fruits, nuts, vegetables and ornamentals. The bug was first detected in Allentown, PA in 1998 and has since spread across the United States. The bug was found in Tennessee during 2008 and has since become an agricultural and nuisance pest in parts of the state.  Seasonal cues trigger stink bugs' search for winter quarters; the shortening days and falling temperatures sending them scuttling for cover. If they sheltered beneath tree bark or mulch, it would be one thing. But they prefer sharing your home over winter, piling into cracks and crevices by the thousands.

What got me to thinking about stink bugs was finding one in the kitchen sink on my way out to the back porch to sit, drink coffee, and write.

And...  while I like watching FOX NEWS as opposed to the biased news of ABC, MSNBC, CBS, and CNN, I got tired of them repeating over and over and over again how misleading mainstream media is, how screwed up the Democrats are, and how the 2020 election could have negative consequences for the US as a whole.

After 72 years of life and 45 years of working in a career, I have witnessed very little change in this country and very little meaningful action by either house of Congress.

• So what, if America goes Socialistic...  America already has Socialism
• So what, if America's wealthy gets higher and higher taxes...  that will never apply to me
• So what, if Democrats increase Medicare/Social Security...  that will simply benefit me
• So what, if the Stock Market goes down and down...  I have enough money in savings

I will be dead or dying if and when CAPITALISM starts to die out

I will be dead or dying if and when CHINA takes over America

I will be dead or dying if and when RUSSIA becomes a global leader economically

One of the criticisms of JOE BIDEN is that he has been an elected official for 47 years and has done nothing to change:

1. the wealth gap
2. gender equality
3. racism
4. education
5. illegal drugs
6. immigration
7. crime

HELL FIRE PEOPLE...  this is not just JOE BIDEN but ALL DEMOCRATS and ALL REPUBLICANS...  the only difference now is that the mainstream media instead of being fair and balanced are BIASED FOR  THE DEMOCRATS...

WHO Owns Our Future?

'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman 

dead of cancer at 43

Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement...

Instead of mourning the loss of this AMERICAN, Americans are bitterly fighting each other in a vicious struggle to determine the direction of this country for the next four years.

...Biden versus Trump...

Actually, it is not as simple as that because it is really not about our President but about the direction in which each POLITICAL PARTY is moving.  That is to say LIBERAL versus CONSERVATIVE where the liberals have redefined themselves as Progressives and in some cases Socialists.

SOCIALISM has failed miserably in several countries but it has also been relatively workable in other countries.  However, the drawback is the fact that Socialism can only serve one master...  the people as master or the economy as master...

The United States of America already has incorporated socialism in its policies and programs to some degree of which we speak very little.

Socialism Present in America

• Unemployment
• Public Education
• Public Transportation
• Public Parks
• Public Restrooms
• Social Security
• Medicare
• ANYTHING PUBLIC

So, the division in America, currently being viewed on media networks, some of which is not being portrayed accurately, is about:

THE PEOPLE versus THE ECONOMY

Currently, our Free Market Enterprise System or Capitalism, is PAYING FOR our Socialistic Programs listed above...

AND, you, the general public must decide do you want our government to focus on giving more to the people which in turn will not help the economy or giving more to the economy which in turn will help the help..

BUT...  this is only part of the story...  we also have to deal with the rest of the world...

If we give more to the people, we may not have the financial resources to help our ALLIES against the aggression of COMMUNISM and DICTATORSHIPS that want to destroy America...

What about:

1. China
2. Russia
3. North Korea
4. Middle East
5. Terrorism
6. Trade Deals
7. NATO
8. Nuclear Weapons
9. Space Exploration
10. Stolen Technology
11. Our National Debt
12. Our Environment
13. Global Population
14. Global Hunger
15. Global Poverty
16. The US Government admitting that there are UFO's

Life In America 2020

THE PASTIME OF BLAMING TRUMP


All I ever hear these days from our MEDIA OUTLETS is that TRUMP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY BAD THING THAT HAPPENS HERE IN AMERICA...

• Trump is responsible for the Corona Virus Spreading
• Trump is responsible for all our unemployment
• Trump is responsible for our piss poor economy
• Trump is responsible for the shut down of College Sports
• Trump is responsible for rioting, looting, and violence in our cities
• Trump is responsible for black being killed by police
• Trump is responsible for all of our social unrest
• Trump is  responsible for the white supremacy movement
• Trump is responsible for Hurricane Laura...LOL

HOWEVER,

1. Here is what we are seeing in some of our larger cities:
2. Families moving out to the suburbs
3. Businesses shutting down and relocating
4. Higher taxes in cities
5. Poorly financially managed cities
6. Increase in crime in cities
7. Increase use of drugs in cities

If you would take your heads out of your asses, you would see that these problems did not happen over the last 4 years but over the last 10-20 years...  of course, that is something that no one really wants to admit nor see.

I Wonder Why? Rhetorical question...

A whopping 9.2 million people tuned in to Fox News from 10 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. ET Thursday to watch President Trump accept his party's renomination for president to close the Republican National Convention.

By contrast, no other network garnered more than 2.6 million viewers. More people tuned into Fox News Thursday night than did CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC and CBS combined. The viewing figures more than double the combined viewership of the two liberal cable news networks, with CNN averaging 2.2 million viewers and MSNBC pulling in 1.9 million viewers.

How to Save Money

KOMIC KORNER KARTOONS

THIS and THAT

All Creatures Great and Small

It's Obvious... isn't it?

Approaching the End of 2020

For What Will This Year Be Remembered

1. COVID-19 Pandemic
2. China Blamed for Virus
3. Stimulus Monies Magnitude
4. Economy Lock Down
5. DNC/RNC Conventions
6. Presidential Election
7. Black Lives Matter Movement
8. ANTIFA Movement
9. Defunding Police Movement
10. Protests Turning Into Riots
11. Political Rhetoric
12. Gulf Coast Hurricanes
13. Shut Down on Sports
14. Democratic Governors Blaming Trump
15. Mainstream Media Bias Against Trump

And...   as far as I am concerned, I was hospitalized for 6 days with what was later discovered to be an undetermined source that cause a staph infection in my bloodstream and the need for me to take infused antibiotics through a PICC line every 8 hours for another 28 days after being released...

The CONTRAST is apparent in my concern and the nation's concern(s)...  I would rather be concerned over myself than over the nation...

WHY IS THAT???

For my 72 years of life and my 50 years of really paying attention to politics, I have come to the conclusion that POLITICIANS DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT AMERICANS BY THEIR ACTIONS...  but, Americans keep believing in the dreams of their words...

For instance, let's take the BLM Movement:

• Some police departments will be restructured to remove racist employees
• Some police departments will be defunded because of racist employees
• The Congress will try and pass more gun restriction legislation
• Some companies will hire more blacks

But, by the end of the next Presidential Term or 4 years...  most everything will be forgotten...  the BLM movement will be relegated to the back pages of the news...  and,, RACISM in America will continue...  because RACISM cannot be eliminated by government decrees, laws, and enforcement.

RACISM will always exist in countries where there are different races or statuses of people...  and in America, blacks only represent 13% of the population...  so, they will always be a minority and will always be treated like a minority, not matter how much they bitch, complain, protest, or use violence to get their points across.

AS INTELLECTUALS, WE MAY BELIEVE OR WANT TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE, BUT HISTORY ALWAYS SEEMS TO REPEAT ITSELF AND WILL SLAVERY WILL NOT BE REPEATED THE RACISM OF SLAVERY WILL BE... IN HEARTS AND SOULS OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT BLACK.

No Light Without Darkness

Years ago, a painter shared this concept with me:  YOU CAN HAVE NO LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS AND NO DARKNESS WITHOUT LIGHT.

I did not fully comprehend what he was trying to tell me, but as I thought about it more and more, I realized that light highlight the dark and the dark highlights white...  in this case I am talking about the white and black colors.

Such is the nature of LIFE...

Darkness can only prevail with Light and vice verse...  there must be a comparison before the true nature of either situation can be understood.

Similarly, just as white has black as its opposite, so too does male have its opposite as female and good has as its oppose evil and right has as its opposite wrong or night and day, left and right, up and down, dead and alive.

These differences exist to give us contrast.

Peaceful Protests Turn Into Riots

States in which protests turned into riots:

• Oregon
• Washington
• California
• Virginia
• Illinois
• New York

Innocent bystanders hurt

Stores burned and looted

Protesters arrested 

Police killed and injured

Police vehicles burned

Public buildings vandalized

Residents terrified

Unsafe for children and families

Businesses closed and relocating

Families selling homes and relocating

Cities will loose tax revenues

Millions will be spent to rebuild

Protests and Riots become POLITICIZED:

Democrats say there are no riots caused by protesters but they are caused by police

Republicans say that peaceful protests have turned into riots and police are there to contain

Which are You?

Bill of Rights

The First Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion.

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.

The Third Amendment prevents government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes.

The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.

The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury. A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. People have the right against self-incrimination and cannot be imprisoned without due process of law (fair procedures and trials.)

The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges. Witnesses must face the accused, and the accused is allowed his or her own witnesses and to be represented by a lawyer.

The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases.

The Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.

The Ninth Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.

The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn’t listed, it belongs to the states or to the people.

In the writing of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, African Americans (blacks) were not counted as being a person...   so, in 1776, these two documents did not apply to them and therefore none of the Bill of Rights were THEIR RIGHTS.

In 1863, slavery was abolished in the US of A...

In June 9, 1868, our US CONGRESS passed the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution redefined citizenship as birthright citizenship.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.”

The first slaves were brought to the American Continent now known as the US of A in 1619 at Port Comfort, Virginia near Jamestown.

244 years of slavery in the US of A...

The US of A this year (2020) is 244 years old...