It's Only Fitting

 GOLDEN RULE:  Do Unto Others That You Would Have Them Do Unto You

I always think of this on Sunday Mornings...  as if it is something to which I try to aspire...  but, more importantly...  I think it is something to which we, as a nation, should aspire to as well...  unfortunately, WE DO NOT NOR WILL WE EVER, I fear...  as it is just not in our nature to treat other like we want to be treated...  we either treat them worse or better but hardly ever the same...  and, when we treat them better, it is usually because of rank, position, wealth, and power OR, because we actually perceive them as BEING BETTER.

YET...  in our Declaration of Independence, we state and affirm that...   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

HOWEVER...  we don't actually believe that all men (and women) were created equal at all and the sad fact of the matter is that we never will.  We tell ourselves that we really, really want to believe this but we cannot make ourselves change enough to follow through.

UNFORTUNATELY TOO...  not only does our US Constitution and Democratic Republic predicate their foundation and motivation to these words from our Declaration of Independence, but our very survival as a nation can only take place if this statement actually happens...

In other words:  WE MUST PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH...

While this may seem like it is exactly what we are doing...  WE ARE NOT and NEVER WILL because these are NOT OUR WORDS but the words of our FOUNDING FATHERS...  who thought they were speaking for all of us but because of their WEALTHY STATUS they were not...

EVERYTHING IS THE UNITED STATES IS WHAT THE FEW SAYS THE MANY SHALL HAVE...

And...

this will always be the way of our DEMOCRACY and actually of all government no matter what the governing documents actually say because whether our leaders are elected or appoint themselves they always will decide what is best for us whether we try to influence them or not...

And...

this is because THIS GOLDEN RULE OF OURS is well stated but never FOLLOWED...

SO...

it is only fitting that I share my thoughts with you on this Sunday morning...  the only day of the week when we really try to be THAT WHO WE ARE NOT normally and probably will never be as it is not in our nature to think of others like we think of ourselves...

Who Cares???

When I was a young boy my mind was always thinking of play...

When I was still young and in my teens my mind was always thinking of girls...

When I was still young and in my twenties my mind was always thinking of working to pay the bills...

Those working and bill paying thinking years lasted until I retired and while I had never been one for enjoying my vacations, my life turned into ONE GIANT ONE...  and now my thinking has turned political as I ponder each day what it is that I should do with these limited hours that fly by so quickly but in so doing, I have realized quite profoundly that politics is nothing more BULLSHIT and HORSE MANURE.

Politics is like Healthcare...  the only person that really cares about you is YOU...

AND...  it goes much deeper than just politics and healthcare, because the BOTTOM LINE of each and every life is that no one really cares about anyone or anything other than one's own life...

Think about it...  just a little if you will...

• did your teachers and professors really care about you
• do/does your employers give a damn about you
• how about the IRS or law enforcement
• does your minister/pastor care outside of church
• how about the military and your supervisors
• your children once they are grown
• your governments both local and national
• your neighbors, friends, or coworkers

Some of these people will help you out in a bind...  for sure, that is true...  and, perhaps once or twice the shirt off their backs will give you...  but what if you are persistent and need their help on a regular basis...  what then, my friends...

Will they swap their lives for yours???

It is obvious that many people, individuals and families, make gifts and contributions to their churches and charitable organizations and some even volunteer in soup kitchens in the larger cities, but it that really caring or just a way to PATRONIZE YOUR GUILTY FEELINGS for having it better than other people.

Is making a financial contribution walking a mile in their shoes?

No...  it is not...  and will never be...

Give your dollar

Give your hundreds

Give your thousands

Give your millions

You still have much, much more than your gift will ever be...  and, it seems a rude to you I know because at least you gave something and if that is not enough, then they are all ungrateful TWATS... 

BUT what you don't and never will understand is the simple fact that not matter how much you give, you will NEVER BE THEM and never care about them as much as you care about YOURSELF.

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

Where Do Our Taxes Go?

Information provided by USA TODAY...

Biggest tax spenders

Total spending by the federal government in 2018 was $4.22 trillion. But some programs actually raised money, such as leases for the Outer Continental Shelf, which lowered the total 2018 outlay to $4.11 trillion.

The majority of tax dollars helps to fund defense, Social Security, Medicare, health programs and social safety net programs such as food stamps and disability payments, along with paying off interest on the national debt.

Here’s how it breaks down.

1. Social Security: $987.8 billion or 23.4% of total federal spending
2. National defense: $631.2 billion or 15% of total spending
3. Medicare: $588.7 billion or 14% of total spending
4. Health: $551.2 billion or 13.1% of total spending
5. Social safety net programs: $495.3 billion or 11.8% of total spending
6. Interest on debt: $325 billion or 7.7% of total spending

* * * * * * * * * * 

What really surprised me was that Social Security represented more of our Federal Budget than what we spend on our NATIONAL DEFENSE...

AND...  if you look closely at all the programs that are actually forms of SOCIALISM, you will easily see that 62% of our tax dollars goes in that direction.  Only 15% is spent on our protection and less than 8% is spend on our NATIONAL DEBT which is increasing because of all the social welfare type programs.

NOW...  when I think about it, I am very pleased that our tax dollars are spent this way because I am living off of Social Security and Medicare pays all my healthcare bills along with my supplement...

I personally spend about $600 each month on medical expenses or about $7,200 each year and because of me having two cancers, my medical bills are approximately $500,000 each year which as you can imagine is a very good deal.

AND...  when Biden and Harris finally take over the reigns of government, I feel confident that my Social Security will increase along with my Medicare Benefits putting me into a much better financial situation.

AND...   as long as we keep what the government pays on our NATIONAL DEBT, it will be FUTURE GENERATIONS that will be responsible for paying it off...  which pleases me and it should please you.

Instinct and Desire

Earth in the "Star Trek" universe is an egalitarian, utopian planet that has long ago shrugged off the habit of war. People in Star Trek's vision of the 23rd century use their time and talents to explore the universe, create art and probe the mysteries of science. While some have dismissed this aspect of the show as its most fanciful element, psychologists and political scientists say it might not be so unrealistic.

"I do think humans might someday reach more peaceful coexistence if we don't destroy the planet first, though I doubt it will be utopia," said Dennis Fox, emeritus professor of legal studies and psychology at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "If utopia does come, it won't be because human nature changes, or because some governmental authority or alien race forces it upon us, but because we manage to create new social structures more conducive to satisfying human needs and values."  SOURCE:  SPACE.com

As far as I am concerned, any kind of UTOPIAN SOCIETY in our near future will happen only when we overcome the following:

• Instinct
• Desire

Let me explain...  if we look at the SUM TOTAL OF HISTORY we can easily conclude that our basic instinct is SURVIVAL of the species.  In order to survive we must have conflicts with winners and losers with the understanding that those loser no matter how subordinated they become will one day revolt again...  and, this struggle will continue over and over again until we are NO LONGER worried about our SURVIVAL.

The other issue that prevents a UTOPIAN SOCIETY from coming into existence, is our basic desire of GREED.  Greed has been around for as long as I can remember, for as long as my father could have remembered, for a long as my grandfather could have remembered as well, and for as long as their ancestors could have remembered when they were alive and long before them there was greed in many forms but manly revolving around POSSESSIONS of land, women, animals, and control which basically boils down to WEALTH AND CONTROL both of which underscore the concept of POWER.

If we ever overcome our basic instinctive need to SURVIVE is it highly unlikely that we will ever overcome our desire for GREED.

ONLY the Present Are We Guaranteed

Sometimes in the mornings when I am reflecting while sitting in a reclining chair in the living room or outside on our back porch in a seasonal chair, I think about my past...  and, the more I think about what I have done with my life, the details of that past are not readily available in my mind, only the larger milestones through which I have passed like:

1. high school
2. college
3. military
4. marriages
5. employers
6. doctors
7. travel
8. funerals

My father and mother died in 2001 and 2015 respectively but I do not remember all that much about their funerals except my brother reading a 40 minute dissertation illuminating our father's accomplishments but any specifics of that list have failed to remain inside my brain.

Sometimes, I am not even sure what I did yesterday or the day before although I know I did something because I still have the task list on my calendar.

I remember that I had a Prostate Biopsy but I do not remember driving there nor do I remember driving home sitting next to my wife because I was not allowed to drive for 24 hours.

And...  as I have said before...  the past is gone forever and never will return...  not even the sip of coffee that I took took from my YETI cup...  that sip is now in my past and I will never experience what happened again unless I have a vivid imagination.

The only past that we actually experience in our present is the feeling of the warmth of the sun that took 7 or 8 minutes to get here once it left the sun.

So, what's the point of fretting over the past since it is all said and done...  we have only our immediate future which unfolds in nanoseconds of activities, each of which pass to freely by or at least that is what it seems to me.

How long did I sit and ponder moments ago?

How long did I gaze off into nothingness?

Why can I not remember what just happened to me?

How long does my present last?

THIS and THAT

 

How To Prevent Gun Violence

Here are some easy and not so easy ways to prevent gun violence:

1. Make it illegal to carry a firearm in public
2. Do away with the Second Amendment
3. Restrict the sell of firearms
4. Increase the legal age to own a firearm
5. Longer jail sentences where a firearm is used
6. Increase taxes on weapons/ammunition manufactures
7. Make it illegal to own or sell automatic weapons
8. Make it illegal to own a firearm without taking 100 hours of training first
9. Better training of children in elementary school
10. make it illegal to sell firearms at gun shows
11. Restrict TV shows and movies that include gun violence
12. Make it illegal to transport firearms from one state to another  
13. Make it illegal to own one box of ammunition per firm arm in a home
14. Make it illegal to own more than one firearms per legal aged person

No doubt, any of the 14 ideas will be hard to pass but if in the opinion of our good Lord, all 14 do in fact fact pass in the laws and statues of the Federal Government and State Governments as well, there is going to be a huge issue in how any of these will be enforced except for maybe abolishing our Second Amendment.

In order to enforce, our States and Local Governments will need more law enforcement personnel and in light of a recent DEFUND THE POLICE movement, I doubt very seriously if increase the ranks of law enforcement personnel is a doable idea.

The other issue that gives me some concern is how in the hell is crime using a firearm going to be prevented when the only way that we know that something like that has been done is AFTER THE CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED and the person(s) have been shot.

Law Enforcement presence does in fact STOP CRIME but law enforcement presence cannot be there all the time...  and, what really brings this home to me are our interstate highways.  Whenever drivers on the interstate see a highway patrolman, they slow down, until they are passed then they speed up again and slow down again if they see another...  but there are thousands of miles and highway patrolmen cannot be everywhere all the time.

The other issue that comes to mind is that AMERICANS buy more illegal drugs than any other country in the WORLD...  that is one hell of a distinction...  would you not agree...   and, do you think these punks selling illegal drugs are going to simply give up their firearms and protect themselves with knives and chains...   if you do...  then you need more information.

IN SHORT...  restrictions on firearms will be honored if passed by law abiding citizens but those who don't want to obey our laws will have their firearms just like we had our alcohol during prohibition.

Friday Afternoon Reflections

The temperatures in my part of the world in my part of the USA in my part of Tennessee is a warm 68 degrees Fahrenheit...  not Celsius as some of us want us to be...  and, while that is another debate for another time, let me just say that I have been outside weed eating around my yard for the very last time in the year 2020, if anyone gives damn about what I do or what I think...  and, speaking of thinking...   this is what I was thinking while I was outside...

...THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUCKS...  and, exactly what they suck or should suck, I shall not say...  but suffice it to say that they are not the DEMOCRATIC Party of my father or when Kennedy was President which I am ashamed to say.

I am a LIBERAL'S LIBERAL and was smoking marijuana long before it was popular or even legal in some States...  and, I displaying CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE long before it was popular...   all you have to do is look at the DECADE of the SIXTIES and you will see what I mean...  and no generation has ever come close to the civil disobedience that we displayed until all the burning, stealing, and looting that has been associated with the BLACK LIVES MATTER PARADES...

Moving towards SOCIALISM is not only irrelevant but immature as socialism is what we already have in the US of A, but I guess you are too illiterate to know that...  well, that can be the only explanation that makes sense...  all one has to do is look at everything that is PUBLIC...   as anything PUBLIC is a perfect example of socialism.

NOW...  if you want the kind of socialism where the government owns all the businesses, corporations, factories, and shops...  then you will have to wait a damn long time because I doubt our economic system will allow that to happen...  businesses will own the government long before the government owns them.  Take a look at all the LOBBYISTS that are hanging around Congress...  do you seriously think that any of them are socialists?

IN FACT...  it is CAPITALISM that has allowed/enabled these various forms of socialism to exist at all within this country...   and, it will be CAPITALISM that is what will permit socialism to continue.

Reasons THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUCKS:

First - if they want to raise taxes or eliminate existing tax cuts then they do not have the American Workers foremost on their minds.

Second - the way they attacked a President and wrongfully influenced mainstream media leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding their professionalism

Third -  the way they treated another professional human being in the nomination of Bret Kavanaugh and how they lied to the American Public regarding their political morality.

Fourth - the way they PUBLICALLY and GLOBALLY denounced and were against EVERYTHING the President tried to accomplish just because they could not control their HATE nor their DISLIKE of him just because they did not agree with him.

Fifth - the way they now ask the AMERICAN PUBLIC, the 70,000,000 who voted for TRUMP to FORGIVE and FORGET their actions of the past and give Biden & Harris their unmolested support as the country moves forward...  as if the last 4 years never happened...  and, their treatment of Trump never happened.

A political ideological war has started in this country between liberals and conservatives and it does not matter who started it because the fact of the matter is that it is here to stay regardless of which political parties wins the next few elections.  Southerners have never forgotten the CIVIL WAR nor have the forgotten the CONSTANT ACCUSATIONS on their families and friends because of what their ancestors did...  and, they will never forgive nor will they forget all the statues and the renaming of buildings that the BLACKS have managed to take place...   and, this battle will be fought one day on the streets instead of in the courts...  and, America will pay for its inequality and injustice and the political parties who care more about their re-elections than taking care of the general public.

Bad People Among Us

 

America has plenty of bad people and some to spare if they ever wanted to relocate to other countries...  I remember the Watergate Hearings and Senator Sam Ervin from North Carolina who made a statement that few remember I suspect that...  "everyone is a little bit oily."

At my age and physical conditioning, I am suspicious of everyone and am glad that my life experiences have proven that to be a good direction to take.

GREED  --  CONTROL  --  POWER

These are the single most important motivational foundation of most all Americans regardless of their positions, rank, wealth, or political affiliations...  it is a mental disorder that afflicts everyone and is inherent in everyone at the moment of their birth, manifesting itself in various stages as we get older and older...  until there is no need to possess it further as it has possessed you...

Those Who Are Afflicted:

1. Parents
2. Clergy
3. Bosses
4. Supervisors
5. Siblings
6. Politicians
7. Spouses
8. Military
9. Law Enforcement
10. Coaches
11. Lawyers
12. Physicians
13. Athletes
14. Actors
15. Musicians
16. Thieves
17. Criminals
18. Chefs
19. Writers
20. Artists

No one escapes the clutches of these 3 words...  its like the holy trinity of existence...  especially here in America where, for a while, our Democracy and Freedoms flourish...  and, as long as we are in possession of our Democracy and Freedoms, so too will we be possessed by:

GREED  --  CONTROL  --  POWER

It's Your Life

 

CHINA: Our Greatest Threat both Economically and Militarily

There are CORE PRINCIPLES of American Democracy

1. Sovereignty
2. Limited Government
3. Checks and Balances
4. Separation of Powers
5. Federalism (Federal and State)
6. Liberty and Equality
7. Justice Under The Law

According to FOREIGNAFFAIRS.com

"For decades, conventional wisdom in the United States held that it was only a matter of time before China would become more liberal, first economically and then politically. We could not have been more wrong—a miscalculation that stands as the greatest failure of U.S. foreign policy since the 1930s. How did we make such a mistake? Primarily by ignoring the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. Instead of listening to the CCP’s leaders and reading its key documents, we believed what we wanted to believe: that the Chinese ruling party is communist in name only.

Today, it would be a similarly grave mistake to assume that this ideology matters only within China. In fact, the CCP’s ideological agenda extends far beyond the country’s borders and represents a threat to the idea of democracy itself, including in the United States."

According to INVESTOPEDIA...

In 2018, the Chinese GDP in nominal terms stood at $13.37 trillion, lower than the U.S. by $7.21 trillion. In 2020, the gap is expected to reduce to $7.05 trillion, and by 2023, the difference would be $5.47 trillion. In terms of GDP in PPP, China is the largest economy, with a GDP (PPP) of $25.27 trillion. By 2023, China's GDP (PPP) would be $36.99 trillion.

GDP PPP (purchasing power parity) is gross domestic product converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP as a U.S. dollar has in the United States.

Wait a minute... that is not all...

From the Brookings Institution, we see the following:

China wields by far the world's largest military, with 2.8 million soldiers, sailors and airmen—twice the American number. (The United States is number two; the only other countries with more than a million active duty troops are China's neighbors—Russia, India and North Korea.)

NOTE:  China, India, and North Korea support China

Imagine this my friend, when Biden/Harris assume control:

1. Taxes will be raised on businesses, Trump's Tax Cuts will be removed
2. Government Regulations Will Return to Business
3. Monies will be diverted away from the military
4. Medicare for All will be approved draining the Treasury
5. Open Borders will be instituted and Trump's Wall will come down
6. A Green New Deal will be enacted with Congressional or Presidential Support
7. China will be given a MOST FAVORITE NATION status
8. Russia & North Korea will be presented as our enemies

By the next time we vote for a new President in 2024, hopefully you will see by then that CHINA will never and has never been our friend...  that they are indeed a HUGE THREAT to our democracy or whatever form of government that we have by then...  because just as soon as we start diverting all our resources to the welfare of the people...  The COMMUNIST CHINESE GOVERNMENT will seize the opportunity to take control of the rest of their continent on its way to conquering the world...  and, they will form economic and military alliances with India, Russia, and North Korea...  and, just because America is despised in the MIDDLE EAST, they too will join forces with the Chinese...

This leaves Great Britain, Europe, Canada to look towards the USA for help but Americans will be too busy to offer their help as they never liked wars anyway and think the world would be a better place if we would just learn to play with each other.

There Is No Beginning or End Just a Present

EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY

To understand special relativity you must first familiarize yourself with the speed equation: 

speed (s) = distance (d)/time (t)

The speed of light is the same for all observers, and this is known as 

“c” for constant (as in c in E=mc2)

where is E is energy and M is the mass of an object). So the speed of light for any observer is constant regardless of the speed the observer is going. For the speed of light to remain constant, something in the speed equation has to give way, that something is time. It turns out time slows down when you travel faster and faster, nearing the speed of light. What could be 10 minutes for the object could be 20 minutes for the observer. So what’s the future for the fast-moving object could be the past for the slow-moving observer, and vice versa. 

This relativistic effect is called time dilation. So the faster an object travels, the slower the time passes. That’s why moving clocks are slower than stationary ones. For example, observer A is on a slow-moving train called "train A". She measures time using her wristwatch. Observer B, passing train A at high speed, has the exact copy of A’s wristwatch. Yet, from the point of view of A, B’s wristwatch runs more slowly than her own. And this is why Einstein said “time is an illusion”.

According to Merrian-Webster’s definition, spacetime is “a system of one temporal and three spatial coordinates by which any physical object or event can be located”. So if spacetime isn’t constant, then what is? The spacetime interval. The spacetime interval is the spacetime difference between two separate events. The equation:

(Spacetime interval)2 =

 (the distance between two events)2 – (speed of light)2 x (the time between two events)2

Let's reach out to a physics professor for an explanation of what this means...  physicist Professor Brian Cox of Manchester University gives an example: "The Sun is eight light-minutes away – it takes light eight minutes to get from the Sun to the Earth. If the Sun exploded now, it will take me eight minutes to notice. So let's say the Sun explodes, and from my point of view, four minutes elapsed. I still don't know it's exploded, so there's nothing the Sun can do to cause something to happen on the Earth – it's completely disconnected from it for eight minutes".

Can the events of time be reversed?  Let's say I throw a ball and knock you off the chair on which you are standing...  and we all agree that it was the ball hitting you that knocked you off the chair...  now, can those events be reversed in that can you fall off the chair before I throw the ball?  Obviously, the answer is no.

Now...  what if time was not created...  what if it has always been there from the getgo?  If it had no beginning, then it will have no end...  and the resulting concept is that we are always living in the PRESENT...  all as it is.

Weh Yuh Ah Seh

...Back to back, 

belly to belly

I don't give a damn, 

I done dead already
Oh-ho, back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
I hear you talking
Back to back, 

belly to belly
Don't give a damn, done dead already
Oh-ho, back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree... sung by Harry Belafonte


I think parts of this song lyrics strike a chord with me (no pun intended) and those words be:

I Don't Give A Damn

I don't give a damn about 

• politicians: Democrats or Republicans
•  illegal immigrants
• abortions: late term or otherwise
• firearms or owning one
• Global Warming
• bitcoin or cyber currency
• any Social Media
• the mainstream media
• the national debt increasing
• if North Korea goes nuclear
• any Banana Republics
• Black Rap Music Lyrics
• if Biden raises my taxes
• Medicare for All
• free college educations
• if China has the biggest military in the world
• if China has the biggest economy based up PPP GDP
• reality TV
• we defund police departments
• if BLACKS try to rewrite our Constitution or receive reparation
• if our conservative voices are muted
• if the USA leads the world in the purchase/consumption of illegal drugs
• if whites are still being blamed for slavery
• the wealthy or the poor or even the middle class
• professional athletes:  basketball, baseball, football, and golf
• that both my parents have passed away
• that my sister and brother want little to do with me
• that my faith keeps getting stronger the older I live
• if atheists have their heads up their asses
• if and when cancer takes my life

BUT... what I do care about

 is my 

FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

The Calculation of Wealth

We all know that WEALTH is the accumulation of money and the more money one has acquired over one's lifetime, the more wealthy one will be when one FINALLY DIES...  which is the ENDGAME that all of us must face...  and we see this final solution more vividly the older we become...  resulting in finding ways to hold onto our wealth or having buildings named after us so that our lives will NO BE FORGOTTEN...  as the Scottish might have said once upon a time.

But, wealth can also be calculated in other ways as well:

• the wealth of being healthy
• the wealth of having what you can never purchase
• the wealth of being physically fit, skilled in many areas
• the wealth of never lying to yourself or others
• the wealth of being mindful through meditation
• the wealth of connecting to a cosmic consciousness
• the wealth of being artistically skillful
• the wealth of saving many "souls"
• the wealth of knowing you were "admired" and "respected" by many
• the wealth of one's religious belief and faith in God
• the wealth of having many "real" friends
• the wealth of children and grand children
• the wealth of having a love for mankind and animals
• the wealth of love and marrying one's "soul mate"

As AMERICANS in the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY have a tendency to measure wealth through money and nothing else which is an unfortunate place to be, especially when one find oneself on one's deathbed knowing that shortly one will not exist and that one's money cannot be taken with one once that final breath of air is taken...

Can you imagine how empty and alone a person like that is going to be?

America's Wealth Gap is our BIGGEST ENEMY

 

USA TODAY REPORTS... in 2019...

Nationwide, it takes an annual income of $538,926 to be among the top 1%. Among the approximately 1.4 million taxpayers who meet this threshold, the average annual income is about $1.7 million – about 20 times the average income of $82,535 among all taxpayers.

About 209 times the national average...

99% of all Americans...

Will education get you into the 1% or even the 10%

The top 10%...  not 1% mind you...  own 70% of America's wealth...  and the sad aspect of this data is that the gap between the wealthy and the poor or even average or middle class is GROWING STEADILY EACH YEAR...  while the rest of us watch it happen and DO NOTHING...

Is Russia our Enemy?

Is China our Enemy?

Is North Korea or India our Enemy as well?

Is global terrorism our enemy?

Is a shifting global economy our enemy too?

Will global warming destroy us in the next 100 years or so?

AMERICA'S ENEMY IS ITS OWN WEALTHY CITIZENS WHO REFUSE TO SHARE THEIR WEALTH OUTSIDE OF A SELECT FEW...

The wealthy fight no wars and end up in graveyards

The wealthy do not come home from wars with disabilities

The wealthy hire the best legal minds to protect them

The wealthy shelter they income from taxes that you cannot do

The wealthy have access to the best medical doctors and facilities

The wealthy can hire security companies to protect them

The wealthy can have access to food that you cannot

The wealthy has access to transportation they you cannot afford

The wealthy are the ones who make all the rules that you have to follow

The wealthy live in spacious homes with servants that we call employees

The wealthy have the power to put you in jail if they so desire

The wealthy have the power to hire and fire you at will

The wealthy KNOW THEY CONTROL YOUR LIVES AT THEIR PLEASURE

Think For Yourself This Time...

 

What would like in America be like if we only had the DEMOCRATIC PARTY?

Would we have any guns or firearms at all in our possessions...

Would not having firearms stop crimes with firearms...

Would we still have freedom of speech if we spoke out against the Democrats...

Would we be able to find employment if we spoke out against the Democrats...

Would our Federal Taxes continue to increase every year...

Would we be allowed not to smoke marijuana...

Would we still have a well supplied law enforcement...

Would there be any need for us to have a US Military or Space Force...

Would we still have gasoline cars...

Would would be forced to think like liberals...

Would would still be allowed to worship in our churches...

Would 13% of our population still tell us what to do because of slavery...

Would our history books be rewritten to reflect this new truth...

Would employers be forced to hire until there is no unemployment...

Would China, Russia, India, and North Korea be seen as friends and allies...

Would there be a law against having so much wealth unless it is shared with everyone...

Would there be enough medical supplies and medicine to help everyone...

Would we be fighting in foreign lands to promote Democracy and stop Communism...

Would would still be allowed to own our home and other property...

Would we have a new United States Constitution...

Would we change the name of our country to reflect our new IDEALS...

Would all wealth be redistributed according to one's needs and not work ethics...

Would our BRAVE NEW WORLD have what it takes to survive...

UNDERSTAND THIS...  IF YOU WILL...

China has a bigger military than the USA

China's economy is the largest in the world according to PPP GDP

China sees the US as its adversary in global domination

The Middle East literally HATES the USA

Europe and Great Britain will FALL without the military support from USA

Global Terrorism will escalate without the USA to stop it

The USA has the most natural resources in the entire world that others want to have

The USA is in DEBT up to its eyeballs

America's freedoms will be the easiest to loose

Intellectual Ignorance and Arrogance will be our internal downfall

Our own wealth gap is our biggest enemy

Rumors of WAR

Wars since 1947 Involving the United States

1. Korean War
2. 
   The Cold War
3. Laotian Civil War
4. Lebanon Crisis
5. Pay of Pigs Invasion
6. Simba Rebellion
7. Vietnam War
8. Thailand Insurgency
9. Korean DMZ Conflict
10. Dominican Civil War
11. Bolivia Insurgency
12. Cambodian Civil War
13. South Zaire War
14. Gulf of Sidra Encounter
15. Lebanon Intervention
16. Grenada Invasion
17. Gulf of Sidra
18. Bombing of Libya
19. Tanker War
20. Tobruk Encounter
21. Invasion of Panama
22. Gulf War
23. Iraqi War
24. Somali Civil War
25. Bosnian War
26. Haiti Intervention
27. Kosovo War
28. Operation Infinite Reach
29. Afghanistan War
30. Iraq Invasion
31. Iraq Wat
32. North West Pakistan War
33. Somali Civil War
34. Operation Ocean Shield
35. Libya Intervention
36. Operation Observant Compass
37. Iraq Intervention
38. Syria Intervention
39. Yemeni Civil War
40. Libya Intervention

PERSONAL COMMENT: There have been almost 40 military conflicts (not counting the Cold War) involving the USA since my birth 73 years ago which averages out to 1 military conflict every almost 2 years.  And, these wars in which we have been engaged are the ones fought outside the continental United States and on foreign soil.  We have yet to fight one on our own soil except for the Civil War from about 1860-1965.  However, I heard a rumor just the other day, that a new kind of civil war is coming between the white and the blacks but I am not sure if this one will be fought before the one waged between the wealthy and the poor.

A Time Without Time

Eternal inflation is a hypothetical inflationary universe model, which is itself an outgrowth or extension of the Big Bang theory.  According to this theory, the inflationary phase of the universe's expansion lasts forever throughout most of the universe. Because the regions expand exponentially rapidly, most of the volume of the universe at any given time is inflating. Eternal inflation, therefore, produces a hypothetically infinite multiverse, in which only an insignificant fractal volume ends inflation.

The idea of the inflation of the Universe started in the 1970's when a belief developed that within nanoseconds of the BIG BANG, the universe expanded exponentially.

But Stephen Hawking does not agree with that theory and believes that external inflation does not occur.

Eternal inflation emerges because, in the very early universe, the quantum fluctuations in the field that drives inflation are as big as the field’s average value. But Hawking argues that under those conditions one cannot simply carry on with Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, but instead must use a maneuver like Maldacena’s to view the entire situation in a space with one less dimension. In that alternative space, things are more tractable, they claim, and the physics does not lead to eternal inflation. Instead, a single, well-behaved universe merges.

In 1997, Argentine-American theorist Juan Maldacena considered a volume of space in which gravity was at work. It’s like saying whatever goes on inside a can of soda can be captured by a theory describing only what’s happening on the can’s surface.

So in Hawking’s through the principle of holography, the very early universe should be described by a theory with just three spatial dimensions and no time.

And, while this author is no theoretical physicist, I wonder quite innocently I would have to say, where does time come from when it finally appears?  And if it does finally appears which we all can agree that it does, then what caused time to be created?  And, can time's creation be attributed to the BIG BANG or to our Creator?

A Sense of Purpose

THIS MORNING...   in less than 20 minutes, I wrote down 5 poems, each of 10 lines or more, sometimes 20 and this was done spontaneously and without the blinking of an eye or hesitation so that I might find the right word...  and for me, it does not matter if the damn poems are good or not or even worth reading because these words came out of my head not yours or any other...

LAST NIGHT...  when it was dark, I ventured downstairs to the hot tub and I lay submerged in those relaxing hot waters, I looked skyward upon the sky filled with stars of all shapes and sizes whose light I was seeing was at least 8 minutes old...   and I wondered while relaxing if I would ever connect with its cosmic consciousness... and thought...

                                               

my heart beats stereophonic rhythms in my ears

when my head lays back upon the porcelain,

my body remains submerged and languishing

in the one hundred and three degree temperatures...

It was almost immediately that these 4 lines appeared in my head while staring up at the sky and wondering if I was ever going to make contact with some ancient alien...   and then, a flash of insight ran its course through my body and when it appeared at the top of me, an idea quickly formulated and simply but without a doubt knew what had to be done.

Currently, I maintain 4 blogs:

• one for poetry new and old
• one for my daily journal entries so to speak
• one for my ongoing cancer issues
• one for my paranoid schizophrenia (I only wish but I am still just bipolar)

My writings now contain the following as well:

• 42,000 poems previously written
• poetry occasionally written in notebooks
• previously written opinion articles published on LinkedIn
• two and one half novel written (300 pages each) out of 12 outlined

MY INSIGHT...  I will continue writing daily just as I have always done, but now my life's purpose is to type up and publish all of my writing on one of these 4 blogs until I have nothing left to publish other than what I am currently writing.

RETIRED...  I have been retired now, going on my 7th year, without any hobbies of which to speak or desire to play tennis or golf or sit upon the couch eating popcorn watching foolish professional compete for millions of dollars worth of salary, only to destroy their God given bodies.  For a good five years I have floundered, not really knowing what to do...  and, it was right in front of me all the time...  and, I would be dead today if it has been a poisonous snake.

Feelings Are Mutual I Suppose

Throughout my lifetime albeit not that long, there has always been those races, people, individuals we thought of as being inferior.  How did we come about this revelation, I do not know, other than it must have been our parents who were the first to clue us in.  Then later perhaps, it was our classmates, our teachers, our preachers, and lastly our employers when we were finally of a mind to decide for ourselves, even though our minds had been tainted and painted with all sorts of predispositions.

I recall quite vividly our parents were against blacks and Catholics and those who made their living in the north.  My first awareness of blacks came at Christmas times when our mother took them food baskets and other small gifts of joy.  And, even though JFK was a Democrat, he was still Catholic and should not be trusted.  The north was a place to visit like an art gallery or a museum but not a place to venture in after dark especially since their attitudes were against those who live in the south with their funny accents and such, clothes and strange religious habits...  like Southern Baptists with their born again beliefs.

While Virginia was somewhat in the middle of the two extremes, we were more likely to lean towards a southern point-of-view than to a northern one.  And so, all my biased intent was conceived in those early years while living at home.  Still...  my first adventure up north was not too positive either, as I asked a man for "what time it was," just outside the airport and he replied with extreme harshness and a dead stare, "what do I look like a fucking clock?"  My politeness all but withered and died and crawled up my ass for a place to hide.

Ever since then and I remember well, I have never cared much at all for people from the north and their BETTER THAN YOU attitudes once they realize you are not only an out-of-towner, but are from the States below the Mason-Dixon Line.  And, if you ask around on both sides and without hesitation of any kind, they will tell you that the feelings are mutual in all respects.

Free Will and Choices

There is a common belief among mankind whether it be from man or from woman and whether you believe in a Creator or not that ALL OF US WERE born with a certain amount of FREE WILL and that this WILL is used on a daily basis to make our CHOICES and it is these CHOICES that determine the direction into which our lives will proceed and it is these CHOICES that determine or predetermine most if not all of our future outcomes.

There is no denial that we make choices and/or that for some of us, our choices are made for us whether these decisions come from our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our bosses, and/or our spouses.  And that these choices do influence in some degree our future outcome and life's directions.  HOWEVER, the concept of free will is a different matter altogether in that free will means the following:  the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.

Consequently, free will has nothing to do with any religious beliefs as it is simply an act of bring born into the world of mankind...  and, we all know that giving birth results from the sexual union of a man and a female...  and, we can make the assumption that this union has nothing to do with the will of a Creator or any such other religious nonsense...  especially since giving birth is as natural as breathing air...  and, we can assume that the properties of our physical body have nothing to do with a Creator either as they are simply the result of millions of years of mutated evolution.

As was evidenced by Jesus and his sayings as recorded in THE BIBLE, if he had FREE WILL then Jesus would not have needed to obey the will of GOD...  but, the will of GOD is necessary and the foundation of most all religion.

So...  therein lies our problem.

NOW...  let's look at the concept of time and the scientific fact that time has a past, present, and a future even though we can neither see our past or our future, yet we know as sure as we are breathing that it is there.

We also know from our space program that astronauts age less in space than they do on earth.  Using this knowledge as a foundation, we can now make the assumption that when we send astronauts further and further out into space and we keep a record of their time relative to earth that their present would be our future.  It is also possible that if these astronauts were the same age as those monitoring their progress that the monitors could die of old age before those astronauts return and still have almost half their lives to live.

Now, let's return to creation and see if it was a Creator that brought it about or some scientific anomaly.  Science believes that our universe was created by the bursting forth and expansion of a black hole.  By definition, a black hole is a compression of matter...  so, what comes out is that which was first inside since a black hole cannot exist with nothing inside.

Yet, science cannot explain where all the stuff that was expelled from that black hole came from...  and so, we must turn to a Creator for the only logical explanation which is a prime example of OCCUM'S RAZOR which states:  Occam's razor is the principle that, of two explanations that account for all the facts, the simpler one is more likely to be correct. It is applied to a wide range of disciplines, including religion, physics, and medicine.

With this new concept in mind, we can easily explain the notion that if our Creator wanted to, He could see our past, present, and future and if it was His Will He could decide our choices for us by changing facets of our past which would cause us to make different choices in our present, thereby nullifying the fact that we had any free will at all.

Winterizing Yardwork Renovations

Every year since we have lived in this house and it has been TWENTY, there have been outside renovations to accomplish every Fall which usually takes place over the THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY weekend...  but, since we are both retired, those renovations can take place at any time, providing we have taken a notion to get them done.

Today...  is a case in point...  where in the yard we will be but only after NOON when it warms up a TAD and makes it more accommodating for folks like me who have a reluctant tendency to suffer from old age that seems to be getting worse rather than better...   lol

Once the weather finds it way solidly in the 50's, we will venture outside and move bags of mulch around to various strategic positions in the yard some of which we will open, pour out, and spread while others we will simply lay on top of the plants as they lay upon the ground...   like our Elephant Ears that come back each Spring very spectacularly and we think it is because of the bags of mulch we put on top of them to keep their roots warm during our brief winter season.

Once this is done, we will rest a spell, but there is more to be accomplished.  And, this task is one that only I can do but because of my weak back, I must wear a reinforcing brace...  and this is about a 60-90 minute task of weed eating around the perimeter and house and various garden sites... and, the time varies because of the number of times, I have to stop and pull out more line.

Our last and final task to complete our winterizing yardwork renovations will be to cut back (trim as it were) all the shrubs and bushes that over the years we have planted...  and, when I say we...  I mean my wife and I as we do not pay anyone to take care of any of our yardwork unless it is something that we do not have the technical knowledge and/or skills to perform ourselves.

There are 10-12 bushes and shrubs that will once again be trimmed this year, along with a stand of Nandina's that have gotten to big for their britches but instead of trimming they will be topped.  And finally, there is a Japanese Maple that was severely damaged by the cold a decade or more ago, and when we cut off all the dead wood, expecting it to die for sure, the damn tree grew back more beautiful than before and branched out wider than expected blocking our view when leaving the driveway...  so, this Fall I will trim her back again, but not as severely as before only about two thirds as much maybe three fourths to see if, in the following Spring, she will return again.

If not...  I will simply dig her up and plant grass seed.

This year, twenty twenty, we will have our winterizing yardwork renovations done before THANKSGIVING and when we sit down to the table and thanks we will give, I will be most appreciative of the physical gift I have been given to do all this yardwork myself and not have to pay anyone for the service.

AND...  I will continue these activities in the Fall, Spring, and Summer until my body is physically incapable of executing these duties or that my wife and I decide to see our house and move into an apartment where there is no winterizing yardwork renovations to be performed at all.