End of year pseudo victory

If you read this blog regularly, you know I rant and rave about how large corporations do not treat us, their customers, well.

I spent over a hour and half getting a problem fixed and being persistent and finally got my rates lowered from a large corporation today. Yes, one and a half hours plus just to get them to treat me like a customer, but they finally did. I do not know if this is good or bad anymore, yet I managed to get something accomplished. I am not saying the name of the corporation because I am still mad at them and they do not pay me to advertise for them. Small cheap victories to end the year. I guess I will happily take it. I will be saving money compared to what I have been spending. Still too much in my eyes, but better.

And the Cowboys made the playoffs so does anyone know what goes well with crow. I am happy for them, yet I picked them to go 8-8 and not make the playoffs.  I will take this and I hope they end the season on a high note and beat the Giants. Win or lose though the offense needs to get in a rhythm pronto if they want to have a chance in the playoffs.

And the Mavs ended their skid, but go right back on the road and play the team they just beat. And after that they have a back to back home/road series with another team. The NBA loves to have fun with their schedules. 

And how does both the President and the Democrats manage to play chicken with 800,000 jobs going into the new year. I know it is the President’s shutdown and on him, but the Democrats need to come up with a rational alternative or soon they won’t be smelling like roses either. And the irony is based on the last poll I saw the Republicans in Congress are getting the least blame. It was their acquiescence of Trump in the first place that help put us here.

We need new major parties. We just do. At least one that puts the middle class first, doing that will create rational public policy for the whole of the country.

Cheers

Merry Christmas

Peace on Earth

And goodwill to all

A border wall idea

Our MAGA government is partially shut down and no one seems to know what to do as of the last article I read this morning. And as another article states Trump’s mind is being run by talk show hosts, okay maybe not exactly but you get the point.

What to do, what to do, well someone needs to hack into the FOX NEWS feed and play the movie “A Day Without A Mexican”. (And yes I know it is not up for best picture anywhere on planet Earth now or back when it was made). The plan here is to hack into the timeframes that Trump’s favorite hosts are on and maybe he will think it is a FOX News documentary and rethink what is going on inside his head. (If there is anything going on in his head besides being told what to do). And since FOX News is not really a news station registered with the FCC what can they say, a movie is entertainment and FOX is registered as an entertainment broadcaster with the FCC so we haven’t changed formatting with showing the movie. At some point something must change. It is a desperate idea, but enough is enough with this administration.

And speaking of being told what to do, why is it foreign dictators have more sway over Trump’s opinion than our own generals and national security personnel? He just handed over half the middle east to Putin by withdrawing troops from Syria. I know the troops do need to come home, but Assad will regain control of Syria, Erdogan will unabashedly attack the Kurds, and Putin will continue to expand his web of influence.  Is there anyone in this country with a clue on how to run Middle East policy? Throw in Saudi Arabia is just a bunch of murdering pricks and ISIS has become like cockroaches buried into the walls still eating away the region and seriously Trump is the last person that needs to manage US Middle East policy, much less anything else. And the rational non-corrupt people in Israel must be pulling their hair out.

I do not know how the Republican Party can continue to allow the destruction of our country day after day. Even if the Democrats could really wrestle back some type of control, they wouldn’t know what to do either. We need to slow down and really examine what we do going forward.

It may be it is Saturday morning, it may be the cinnamon vanilla coffee one of my daughters served me (what is with this flavored coffee phase people are going through?), just give me coffee or covfefe, if I want flavor I will add flavored cream otherwise, black coffee please, or it may be another one of those minor transitions in life I am going through today, but something just ain’t right with the world.

Cheers

Trump legal thoughts, minor warning, and a compliment

Two issues in the news both involving a legal question for Trump. Well… there are probably hundreds of legal issues facing Trump, I just have a comment on two.

People are talking about the President cannot be indicted while President, so does that mean any statutes of limitations be postponed till after his Presidency. I do not know, his possible crimes may have no statute of limitations, but if any do I think there needs to be a postponement till he is out of office then the clock starts.

And I think I have commented something similar before, but can we implement a Temporary Restraining Order on the Wall if Trump forces it through with a government shutdown.  It would be a legal precedent, but why not try.

I love eggnog.

Or let’s build the damn thing and build it well so we have a thousand year monument of bad public policy, wasted tax dollars, government largess, con job, ignorance, etc so hopefully future generations are smarter than us.

If you come to Texas avoid I-35 at all costs if possible. The portion of highway from San Antonio to Denton is one large traffic jam 24/7/365. And it is always under construction somewhere along this route. I know you do not have a choice, but if there was one or can do something else, do it. Especially if it doesn’t involve excessive tolls.

We need high speed trains.

And you know I rant and rave about the need to get off combustion engines, but I do have to admit, there was a time where you could fix them yourself. Too many things can break down in a car nowadays and unfortunately the computer and electrical systems are major headaches. It is the one problem I see in electric cars. Hopefully they can figure this out and make them home repairable. Life could be great.

And I am always complaining about drivers who make mistakes and then do something to correct the mistake which almost gets people killed. Sometimes real horrendous accidents occur. And if they would only just go to next exit or the next light where they could correct their mistake rationally and not endanger others, that is the way it should work out. Yet time after time you see people put themselves above others and do something totally insane at highway speeds. Well the other day I witnessed a car do the right thing. You could see disaster coming and I was already getting mad when lo and behold, he made the right decision, drove on, made the u-turn and got back on track. I was shocked. So the person in the Kia coming off Woodall Rogers the other day, good job and thank you.

Quick Dallas Sports update

First of all, there is this crow starting to appear on my balcony. It wasn’t around at the first of the fall, nothing, yet over time it has appeared. Still somewhat in the distance most of the time, it is inching closer and closer not quite demanding I eat it, but the problem is I may have to.

Yes folks, I put in print the Cowboys would go 8-8 for the year and that 8-8 was the optimistic preseason projection were my thoughts. Well lo and behold, the defensive backs are playing better than I expected, the linebackers and front line are even better than I predicted, and they went out and got a number one receiver. Dak is holding is on so that lets Zeke be Zeke. There are still a few games left but eating crow on that prediction is becoming more of a reality every week. Well good them and good for me as a fan. Better to eat crow on a downside prediction than an optimistic prediction.

It is winter, and the Rangers haven’t made a headline trade yet so who knows for them. Pitchers and Catchers report in just under three months. Maybe by then we will know more by then.

I still haven’t figured out the Stars. Better than average, but definitely not title contender????????

FC Dallas made the playoffs then fizzled. Maybe on an upswing for next year. Need to pay more attention.

And the Mavs are also playing better than advertised, not for me, but for the general public. I felt that the sum was better than the pieces and all the team is playing well. If they can get their act together on the road they might go far. And what is worse they lost two excruciatingly close road games back to back earlier which helped put them in the hole they were in. Now they must step up on the road. They have had a good run at home, but more road games are coming up. And the one tonight on a back to back in the Big Easy is a real test. I am not saying it is a must game, but it is a statement game that will put them in a position to have real games in March and April. They cannot be a split personality team with good play at home and not enough on the road. They need consistency now, so they have momentum later.

My thoughts on the state of Dallas Sports on this chilly late fall day.

Cheers

Looking beyond the now

For those of you tired of politics:

I’m tired of the madness they shout

I’m mired in confusion and doubt

Okay that bit of a phrase came into my head the other day. Not sure why, so I “internet” searched it thinking I must have heard it before. I didn’t dig deep but couldn’t find anything even close. Not even a 60’s song or a rap song popped up. Still think someone must have written this down somewhere, seems to obvious. All sorts of crazy stuff did pop up from the search, but not this specific phrase. Probably need to dig deeper.

Anyway if no one has said it before, I am claiming it and even the T-shirt and button rights. My copyrighted two-line lyrics for the day.

So, as you know I am not a fan of Trump, Putin, Democrats and Republicans, yet they are tied together in the American political scene and dominating the news. Lately I have decided to separate Putin from making general comments about Russia. Sooner or later there will be no more Putin, he projects himself as healthy, so it may be awhile, but there will be a post Putin Russia. Eventually we will be able to have a relationship with Russia that is much better than his election meddling and other assorted anti-American behavior. There was an article recently maybe Bloomberg, maybe Forbes that talked about some Russian people trying to find a non-Putin Russia. I glanced quickly through it. Hopefully they can get better traction and create a true democracy or more representative government.

On a side note the Democrats continually prove they are clueless by nominating Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House. Just more proof the Parties at the National level are self-serving, and many other adjectives not fit for family discussion.

And everyone is getting all hot and bothered by the latest revelation by Cohen that there was Russia Trump Tower discussion up until early summer 2016. Whoop dee doo! The real collusion of Trump began a decade or so ago. It may be difficult to impossible to prove, but somewhere many years ago, Putin started working on destroying our country from within. He planned for a long time. Slowly it must have dawned on him to create a politician favorable to him. He may not have had Trump in mind originally, but he was planning.

And he chose to infiltrate the Republican party. Why you ask, well I have absolutely no proof, but crazy ideas. The Democrats are clueless, and the Republicans are greedy, and both fail this country.  So, if you had a long-term plan where do you start. It may seem that choosing someone that is clueless would be a great place to start. And the Republicans historically project the anticommunist pro America patriotic rhetoric regularly. So, you might think Putin would infiltrate the Democrats, the liberal bastion of lets all get along people who might be susceptible to overt friendly gestures and be ready to get along. No folks, Putin is smart. Putin chose the Republican party because a clueless person as the sayings go; can buy a clue or get a clue or whatever. Greedy people tend to stay greedy. And Putin recognized how depraved our materialism, how greedy our donor class had become. He recognized it before the left-wing fake news media did. He knew it before Fox. In fact, he probably watched good ole Rupert build up the Fox network with a gleam in his eye. The donor class could control the masses they wanted to, and Putin knew to use this weapon to his advantage.

Most Americans do not understand the rest of the world thinks long term. Leaders from Asia and Europe know their history. They know the need for Machiavellian plots if they want to survive and thrive. Putin was relatively young when he gained power, so he knew he had time. He hates the United States. And he wants Russia to be a world leader. He felt comfortable waiting his plans out.  Go listen to his speeches on how he feels about American exceptionalism and other American thoughts. He wants to see us fail and Russian rise.

And we make it easy for Putin. Our faults are horrendous and obvious. It was no coincidence that Putin was infiltrating the NRA as he was supporting Trump. Putin looked for people’s weakness driven by greed. Greed is his friend. And Trump was a greedy man with no plan ten years ago. Again, Trump may not have been his first choice, but Trump fit his need. A person who is vain, greedy, incompetent, easily manipulated, desperate need for attention, and in trouble financially. Trump could not get loans. Trump wanted everyone to think he was the greatest businessman alive. He wanted to be the most popular guy in the billionaire’s club. And Trump had a rudimentary understanding of the same weaknesses Putin saw in us. Trump was groomed.

And then Trump was given a platform via Fox. What a blessing starting in 2011 or so Trump became popular on Fox. His opinions were sought out by hosts of certain shows. The birther movement gave Trump his first taste of national political power. Another chance coincidence, but one Putin could use to develop a candidate he needed. Trump was already under Putin’s influence. Moving him forward was just the next step.

So, for all you who think the Trump Tower in Russia or the meeting in Trump Tower about “adoptions” proves there was collusion or a conspiracy. Oh no. You are far behind the times on the real collusion. No one has an army of social media trolls they can pull out of a hat. They were recruited and trained long before 2015. They were put to work in 2015 and 2016. The hi-jacking of American Social Media was long planned, it just needed the catalyst, the candidate, and since Fox had fostered hate in the heartland, Putin had two avenues to drive home his boy. And again, Putin was smart. Do you think Trump figured out the electoral college numbers on his own? No, he was sent to the Midwest to fight and gather every vote he could to bring those states home to him. And clueless Clinton, let him.

The Democrats are clueless still, but maybe one day they will find the quarter on the ground and buy a clue. For now, the Republican/donor class greed has blinded them to how depraved they are and how desperate they want Trump to be successful, so they can take even more from this country. As the man himself says “sad”.

And as always, I scream in the forest with no one around, we need new parties to represent the people of this country, even the Trump fans who have lost touch with the truth but are the hard-working Americans that are losing everything and do not know why which generates their anger.

Our country is great when we implement our values, work hard, respect each other, and grow ourselves, and yes even our economy. Real capitalism should be about making a good product at a good price and treating your workers and customers with respect. Corporate American by and large is not business or capitalistically inclined. They are greedy. They are not doing anyone any good. They are making money through their manipulations, but true product production, innovating, growing their business, developing their workforce, etc is not corporate America now.

Putin saw the above plus, our deteriorating public education, our growing wealth gap and what he sees now is good, for him.

So, all you people waiting for Mr. Mueller to pull a rabbit out of his hat and indict Trump on some wonderfully conceived collusion. Sorry, but Mr. Mueller needs to go back some time and prove Trump needed Putin before even Trump thought about running for President. And that my friends may not be provable. Putin is smart enough not to have left a paper trail. There is a connection but connecting the dots may be too large of a project. We need to move forward and find new leaders to pick up the pieces post Trump and re emerge as the country we truly can be.

Cheers

They say nothing good happens after midnight.

So, when does the good start back up? When the milkman delivers milk? The paper boy newspapers? Sunrise?

Who knows, it seems bad happens 24/7. Good, well that is debatable.

And I am fighting the urge to discuss the bad. Okay, not really bad in the biblical sense, but bad from the Bible or some people’s interpretations.

I do not believe in the rapture. I do believe in God, essentially the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I do not like the impression I get that the evangelical Christians want to create the end times, so they can all be part of the Rapture. It lets them not be accountable for their lack of action or following the true teachings of Christ. Sure, they do Christian activities, but really diving down and following Christ, not so sure on that one. And I know they feel I am evil for not believing in the end times like they do. We all have our opinion.

I struggle though with a group of people so obsessed with a theory about Armageddon that is not two hundred years old, but they treat it like it came directly from the Book of Revelation. It didn’t. It is a creation of the fore runners to the modern evangelicals. Yet they have become a large enough group and with their obsession helped elect the one person that comes close in personality to the entity we are all to despise and avoid. This entity would bring about the end times and help all good people be part of the Rapture. First of all, the Bible very distinctly says, man will not know the hour, but they sure want to make the hour happen. And second, they do not feel the person they elected is this entity I am referencing. They support him because he appears to support Israel, but in a way that would lead to Armageddon. Which is something they want. Again, we all have our opinion. I do not think they are right, and their efforts to become correct actually go against the one person they believe in as the ultimate authority on mankind and everything else. Man will not know the hour.

Do I believe our President is the Anti-Christ? No, but I believe he is the living embodiment of everything anti-Christian. Everything he does almost always goes against Jesus’ teaching. And these people who swear by Jesus seem to miss the boat on this one. Irony is either not a strong enough word or the correct word for what applies in this situation.

Well I started writing this after midnight, so you can blame all this on nothing good is happening right now. Or you can deal with the truth, which most people including myself struggle with on a daily basis. And since it is after midnight there is an element of being tired as crap as I write this, which doesn’t help the flow. Yet, if I do not do it now I may never write this.

I saw a comment on a post where the person states Jesus was a liberal. Always amazes me when people try to direct Jesus into their world. Jesus is neither conservative nor liberal. He is simply the truth. We ignore the truth and his teachings, but he and his teachings still exist. Everyone wants to put God in a box to fit their reality. And so, you can expect that when I say mankind barely knows 2-3% of the truth, people do not want to hear it. Anyway, it is late, I have been holding back on writing this idea for days now and it has gone through various iterations in my head. This is the mildest version. Still worried our wonderful government may take anything you say the wrong way. Apparently, they showed up at Tom Arnold’s house recently, but he probably did say something that caught someone’s ear. I haven’t heard what and I am not internet searching for the answer right now.

The bug was in my head and I had to let it out. I am still amazed that evangelical Christians spend more time telling us what we do wrong but hold in the highest esteem a man who contradicts everything the man they say is their savior and path to salvation taught. Labels are so misleading. Calling Trump, a conservative, and calling evangelicals Christians are two labels that seem to go hand in hand, but Trump and the evangelicals are neither no matter what myths they create for themselves.

Cheers all

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Good morning all, 

We are blessed with gorgeous fall weather this morning. Some of the kids are running the Turkey Trot this morning leaving the better half and I to cook. And we are fine. Very quiet for now.

Hope all is well with you. Have a great day and wonderful Holiday Season coming up.

Got much on the mind, but will save it for later since today is a day set aside to be grateful. And sometimes we need to work hard to remember what we are grateful for and some years it is obvious. I hope this has been a good year for you.

Thank you for reading this blog. Next month will begin my 9^th year writing this madness.

Cheers

I have empirical proof I am right.

Sinema winning the US Senate race in Arizona is great news for my thinking.

What did she do? She stayed away from the progressives and kept her message straight forward. She didn’t embellish, she focused on a few important issues to the average American and stuck to it. And I am not making great revelations here, most political pundits are saying the same.

She won. And she won in Arizona. If Beto had done the same thing he probably would have won. (more proof the Democrats are clueless)

So how does that prove I am right? As you know I state regularly that most of America is moderate to moderately conservative. And family issues such as healthcare are very important. And what did she espouse as a major theme for her campaign? Healthcare.

The Republicans have always traded in the issues that have won over the middle class, but they never cashed in. They always support the donor class once the legislation is written. The Democrats are all talk on the other side of the coin.

Ms. Sinema still needs to produce, but the message should be clear to any aspiring politician that hard work, straight forward talk on basic issues will always sell to Main street. The Republicans never produced so my next win is this shows there is promise in creating a true third major party that makes what she did a regular part of their development.

No one is truly developing basic public policy that supports the middle class. Healthcare, Social Security, infrastructure, jobs and better wages, education are all main street issues, but neither party has ever produced public policy that furthers this agenda. Throw in balancing the budget and bringing down the size of the government, reduce government intrusion and it seems Republican, yet where is the pudding? (I am a conservative)

The country is waking up that there is no pudding. Now can we make the next step and find more people like Sinema to take this to the next level? I think we can. 

If you read any of my previous posts about public policy, you see many of these themes. I am not saying I am specifically right, yet I do feel I am on track. I do have a couple of adventurous projects written into them, but overall most people are ready for someone to do what the Republicans and Democrats have not done in fifty years. Sinema even though claiming to be a Democrat took a different track than either party did this mid-term.

In my foolish optimism, am I feeling a whiff of a breeze; one that you think you feel on a very still day.  Maybe a hot and muggy day, one that just seems to weigh on you and never stops, but there is that moment from a completely different direction, maybe you felt something, maybe you saw a leaf move a bit. Are we there?

Cheers

And on a completely different note, this week is a very sad week. We will face our mortality, but when it hits home, it hits. A life long best friend of mine, is succumbing to cancer. This is his second bout and very aggressive and unfortunately there is nothing that can be done this time. He lives out of town, yet I have managed to speak to a mutual friend and his wife so far. (I found out last night) There is inevitability to life, but it is staring me in the face this week. I am not good with this, at any level. Soon his suffering will stop and I do not want him to suffer. We have shared so much together, but I cannot change his situation, though I do not want to see him go. One of the worst moments is when you realize there is nothing to say. You try and it fizzles. The better half and I will try to rush down there soon and hope to get a chance to see him before he goes. For six years in college and right after we were inseparable, then life separated us, but we kept in touch. We still managed to get into a bit of trouble every now and then. There are stories not to be told and stories to share infinitely. We were family, sharing and participating in each others’ weddings and much more. Both of us stayed married till that one vow hits home, till death do you part. My brother called me this evening to check in on me and I appreciate he called. It seemed we needed to catch up. He knew my friend also. All of us go through these times, it is inevitable, it will never be better. For him I need a Miller High Life (a few), a Detroit Tigers game, and a Bob Seger tune. Cheers my friend.

There will be new words and new definitions to define these times

Everyone knows the phrase: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Some one is going to have to come up with new descriptions as to what is going on with our country and very specifically the Republican party. There will be a quote or term, a zeitgeist, a revelation one day, but for now we are going insane trying to figure out the Trump madness.

It may come from psychologists, historians, anthropologists, who knows, but how the Republican Party can wake up every day and accept what is coming from the President and pretend there is not anything wrong is beyond definition right now.

For the last twenty years or so Fox News has been slowly diverting their audience away from critical thinking, so you can see part of the problem. And if you love conspiracy theories, you might think they are truly brainwashing their audience with subliminal messaging at a criminal rate. A rational person cannot fully understand how bad the mindset has become that allows a person to completely disregard so much truth that is available about President Trump and continue to defend him.

And the way they defend him is miraculous. It defies any term available in use today. Sit down and very carefully get into a conversation about Trump. Go slow and be open to listening to a diehard Trump fan, and this includes educated people, and slowly ask them questions and watch them verbally contort themselves into believing he is good for this country. They will masterfully reconvince themselves about how Trump is great for this country and people are unfairly attacking him. Do not argue with them, it is pointless, just let them talk and watch.

I know there are examples in history of similar occurrences, but never have we had so many different ways to hear alternative answers. In the past a despot leader controlled the only means of communication. Not so nowadays, there are hundreds of ways to get information. The twisting of the brain to get where they are is astounding. And they truly believe he is under an unfair attack by the media.

Granted the pretentious left does pick some pretty ridiculous points to hammer over and over with people, but generally it doesn’t take much to realize this man is valueless, clueless, and has serious mental deficiencies. And the pretentious left fed right into their madness by nominating Hillary Clinton to run against him. You do not have to be a Fox fried brain to not like HC. She just rubs you the wrong way and this goes for many people. They forced her down the Democrats throats, and this just reinforced at some weird level to the Trump and Fox nation the Democrats were evil. She isn’t evil, unlikeable yes, but not evil. Yet her unlikability made it easier to play her off as evil. We are not here to discuss her tonight. She has her own problems, but tonight is about being unable to explain the Republican Trump mindset.

And truly, not all Republicans are afflicted with this madness. I think they are just dumbfounded at how bad this is and do not know what to do. Which is even more maddening because we need people to stand up to him. And it must be people that originate from the Republican party and his base. We need people to crawl out from under their rocks and start snapping their fingers and awakening these hypnotized individuals. Again, someone needs to reassure me there is no brainwashing conspiracy coming from the Fox airways because otherwise I have no explanation as to why normally rational people can sit there with a straight face and talk to you that Trump is really a misunderstood genius who is doing what is best for this country.

I have no answers and somewhere in the back of my brain I feel this has been discussed before, from where I do not remember, so hopefully it has, and I am not alone in the recognition somewhere somehow some person will create a term and definition of what is happening. It won’t solve any problems, but at least history will know what we just did to ourselves.

And this definition will not apply to the power mad alt right and the one percenters. We know why they support Trump. They are just criminals. This will be about the masses. So, if you are inclined to write a thesis or create a new buzzword, start working. Someone will eventually label this madness. I am not saying they will figure it out, it will just be labeled.

Cheers

On election day let’s talk about God

Have you ever noticed that if you look at a picture of hurricane from space and then a picture of a galaxy of the type like ours they look very similar? I am not talking specifically, but in general form. The hurricane has outer bands that circle the eye, but generally is one large complex of a storm circling the eye. A spiral galaxy, our type, has arms that stretch out from the center, yet overall is a large complex of stars circling the center of the galaxy.

And why do I bring this example up? No real reason except it helps illustrate another point that I cannot do the math to prove or disprove. And that is the entire universe is rotating around a center. I believe in consistency in what God created so just for my world I am thinking the universe also rotates like the moon around the earth, the earth around the sun, sun around the center of our galaxy. It makes sense for the universe to be rotating around its center or origination point, at least in my little world.

And what has the got to do with the price of tea in China or God for that matter? So lets stop there for a moment.

Ever since the dawn of humans, mankind has been trying to define or explain our creation.  And if you read ancient history, there are all sorts of theories about creation. Eventually the Judeo-Christian version of creation dominated the theological viewpoint in this part of the world. The one God, creator theory, God above all others, yet there is only one God. ( yeah, people seem to ignore that contradiction, and I’m sure some theologian has figured it out) Anyway, I am not going to argue theology and which version of creation is right because this is more about how humans have it wrong.

I am not saying the Judeo Christian version of events is incorrect, actually far from it. I believe much of this is correct, but presented in the wrong terms. I do believe there is a moral imprint on our hearts so to speak. Most people know right from wrong, even when committing something that is considered wrong. Some people do not have this in the wiring of their brain and psychologists have many terms for these people, but most people have a basic understanding of right and wrong.  And that brings up another point for the moment, science basically is the labeling, measurement, and description, or the how of creation. And this includes psychologists trying to label human behavior. Just because I say this doesn’t mean I agree with everything scientists say, yet they have great value because they are exploring the definitions and measurements of our origins.

Did Moses actually experience God with the burning bush? Or was handed the Ten Commandments directly from God? I am not sure if you have to believe the literal interpretation of the Bible to believe God does try to connect with mankind to give direction. Yet, the Ten Commandments are a great framework for mankind. I even believe some literal interpretations may not be enough. And when Jesus pretty much paraphrased them into two: Love God above everything and love your neighbor as yourself it makes life much easier. Maybe we take life too seriously. Religion sure does.

And that leads me to my point. Religion is mankind’s version of events. And this means we are viewing creation through mankind’s lenses and not through God’s. And I say that knowing we cannot view creation through God’s eyes. So we must step back and realize our lenses, our eyes are inadequate to see creation or define it. And also that there are two creations, the physical creation of our universe and then the creation of life and the ability to understand there is life and take it to the next level, the choice of life, or as some label: free will.

So how do you prove this theory? Just like the universe rotating around the center of the universe, I cannot do the math, I cannot directly explain this, because I do not have God’s eyes. I have to find some examples within the context of what we do know.

And just like the universe rotating, no one wants to believe something different from what they already know, but oops, that knowledge is through mankind’s lenses, not God’s.  I know the rotating universe is far-fetched, so people will believe that taking God to the next level is far-fetched, yet that is exactly the problem I am trying to identify. There is a level of God we cannot obtain. Mankind just isn’t ready.  

Think about it this way, Creation is always defined as being perfect, but what is perfect. We define perfection in our eyes, not God’s because we do not know what God thinks is perfection. Like in Genesis, God saw that it was good, yet what did God see that was good. Honestly we have no clue and if anyone tries to argue they are arguing religion, mankind’s lenses, not God’s.

Or to try and give the most specific example I can think of right now, try stepping back and think, if God wanted to create life, what would he need to do so. If you follow the big bang theory through to this moment, we have a wide range of factors that have to come into play that eventually led to humans arguing whose God is better. So is this perfect? Most would say no because we cannot decide whose God is right. And quite frankly most of the arguments are not whose God is right, but whose version of God is right. I break it down in more simple terms that God created us somehow,  gave us moral direction and leaves us to our own devices because he wants to see what we can do with ourselves.  And this is why we screw up so much.

Last example; God had to create life somehow, and this creation had to be perfect in God’s ways for life to come about. God created this planet for us to live on. Yet, some say the planet isn’t perfect. And there is no God because of all the bad things that happen. There are instances where the bad comes from humans, so I argue, we aren’t following God’s directions he gave us and we can change and do better. And in God’s eye this is perfect. God wanted it this way. Or people say the Bible says we must learn to accept whatever comes our way because it is God’s will. I say there is a split. The above we can control and we must. God wants us to choose. He gave us the ability to determine right from wrong and if we want to be what God wants from us we must choose good. And this means making the effort. The Saints aren’t Saints because they sat around. They proactively went out and did good. Okay, you can argue what you think about Catholicism, but the general point is we have a duty to do what is right and to teach what is right and to implement the love God and neighbor in our lives.  The other side of the split is this planet is perfect. Look at it from the concept of to create life maybe we need a dynamic planet and that dynamic planet has a core, rotates, formed to create land and water, so life could develop and eventually become us. So even though we have volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes all of which we cannot control, this does not mean the earth is not perfect. In fact, this means it is, if this is what it takes to develop life. So when the Bible says you have to accept what is God’s will, then this is the part we have to put into God’s hands and accept.

So to wrap up, we were created, we are clueless as to what God considers perfect, and we need to quit defining God in our eyes and realize, we just need to follow the most basic of precepts. God gave us free will so we are to show God we love God by doing what God taught, ie go back to Jesus’ break down of the commandments. And other than that we cannot change the physical environment of our planet, it actually works for us and destroying our planet goes against God’s will since this planet is God’s gift to us. Theology in a nutshell. Ha ha ha

This all began way too early this morning so this is what is left of all my original thoughts. Hope you voted.

Cheers

okay okay, Ted Cruz is causing me to say something about the election and I really tried not to today. There are posters that popped up with the phrase Ted Cruz tough as Texas. And the bile won’t stop coming up once I saw those posters. Here is a man that let someone insult him no end on the National Stage and then the same person denigrated multiple members of his family. And then he says all is good with Trump so Trump will come down to Texas  and campaign for him. Really Ted?!?!?!?! Thank God there was a Libertarian on the ballot or I would have struggled with breaking almost 40 years of not voting for a Democrat or Republican. I do not like talking bad about people, but Ted you are not tough as Texas and I am going to leave it at that because in my mind it is real ugly. If you are a real conservative, you should be able to stand on your own merits, not ride the coattails of the most amoral President we have ever had.

Cheers again

It’s the Saturday night before the elections…

And all through the house every creature is stirring even the louse

Yes, politicians run amuck amongst us like the parasites they are, telling us their wonderful fairy tales, hoping we are angry enough or ignorant enough to believe their nonsense.

Well folks time to vote. I do not know how any one can vote with a conscience. The Democrats are trying to hold them selves as the better party, yet for the last two decades they have let the Republican party run all over them. How else would be in this mess if it weren’t for greed and incompetence?

And the alt right and far right Christians are doing everything in their power to completely disprove the existence of God by being a walking contradiction of everything Jesus taught.

So, do your civic duty and go vote and if you have really looked at all the candidates I hope you can make it home without throwing up all over your car.

As I have said numerous times and am willing to say thousands more, we need new parties. Parties brought forth by the people to represent us, not the haters, not the greedy, not the ignorant, but the clear majority of this country who truly want something better. And definitely need something better.

Maybe after this election it will sink in. I keep hoping so.

Long live the Constitution, the Constitution is dying.

A written mea culpa; blexit; and Patriotism is a funny word

First, I want to clarify the part of the Great Society that helped bring about improvement in Civil Rights is good. The portion that tried to help all the impoverished is what failed. It was never designed to be cost effective and has proven to be such decades later. I believe we can help the poor even with the fact Jesus Christ said there will be poor always. There will be, but we must help them. It is the need to be effective in helping the poor that is never really discussed. I propose that should be a goal for our country and in the past have written some policy ideas to try and reach that goal.

Funny how the blexit movement as defined in the news this week is counterproductive to what is needed. I say constantly that most Americans are moderate to moderately conservative, no matter their race or ethnicity. The Republicans had the right idea after the 2012 election to be more inclusive. They went completely 180 on that thought though. And I never really trusted them to follow through. We do need a more inclusive party that does represent the clear majority of this country which is the working and middle class. And if you look around you realize that these groups are pretty well represented by all of America. And you also realize all of them are hardworking, value conscious at least to some extent and care about the future of their families. Why the Republicans never followed through is beyond me. Actually, greed and reliance on the alt right is why, but I almost had a moment of being nice and ignorant. Couldn’t do it. The Democrats have failed the Black Community and to really help them we do need a more comprehensive policy that favors all with better education. Ignorance is one of the drivers of bigotry so overcoming ignorance is one step in helping all. And better opportunity for all, again which includes better education for all is another step in the right direction. It takes work to do what is right.

And Patriotism is a funny word. It is so dependent on who is using the term to have a true understanding of what one is aspiring to accomplish. It can be used for good or evil. I believe in our country, Constitution, and our values, yet some couch themselves in patriotism to destroy our values. The more a person uses the term to describe themselves or their policies or goals, the more I am skeptical. People who truly believe in something show it in their actions, not their words. And people who believe in our country, Constitution and values will be doing much more than some of our loudest “patriots”.

Cheers all on this wet and cool Halloween evening in North Texas.

Why the Democrats are clueless

Or maybe why I cannot figure out how the Democrats feel they can afford or fund their programs.

I am still mad at the writer or the producer of the movie where Michael Douglas says greed is good. Greed is not good, yet way too many use this philosophy to justify abuses of the system and the wealth gap. The truth though is greed is a motivator to some people.  Greed by itself is wrong, the underlying motivator though can be used for good. Or at least ways to accomplish goals.

Democrats seem to forget taxpayers are consumers. They consume government services. Most people accept paying taxes for the services government provides that they see the benefit or see the need. We pay taxes for building roads and infrastructure, for police and fire, for the military to protect our sovereign borders, educating our children, and maybe a few other basic needs I cannot think of off the top of my head right now. The rest of what the government does and spends money on becomes a matter of choice. This is where the push and pull of politics comes into play. And it should be this way in an open government.

For our health we need clean air and clean water, but who should pay for it? Some people do not like to admit this, but we are a country based on Christian principles and if applied we need to take care of the poor, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the elderly, the children and orphans. The question is who is to take care of these people.  Some argue the government, some argue the private sector via charities pay or fulfill the need.

After these definite needs of society are accomplished we then get into wish list of what we want of our country. Or are they wish list items? Is good affordable healthcare a definite need of society? Or is it a nice benefit? Are higher wages for all a need or a benefit? Should we work until we die, or do we deserve a retirement? I bring these up because we have attempted to answer these questions with Social Security and Medicare for example. Private sector companies also offer some type of retirement benefit. This shows you government can create public policy to cover more than just the basic needs. Again, this is the benefit of an open government which allows society to elect people to represent them to help make their lives better. Can we make social security better? We should, but can we?

In the above philosophy, in essence, is what the Democrats tout they are trying to do. They think government should address the inequalities in society to create a level playing field. Our founding fathers also believed in this and wrote the Constitution to give people and our country the opportunity to find ways to create an equitable society that benefits those who work hard but leaves no one behind or prevents anyone from taking that opportunity away. On a side note, in 2018 we are moving away from what we were given.

Sounds great doesn’t it. Well, lets go back to people or taxpayers are consumers of government services. Two factors that affect consumers are what can they afford and how much do they want it, or occasionally how much do they need it. I do not want to go spend an afternoon getting my haircut, my job requires I look neat and trim. I need the employment to pay my bills, so I go get a haircut on occasion. Some things the government does fit this simple example. We do not want to spend time arresting people, so we pay for the police to protect us. I am not saying anything the government does is perfect, it is the ideal we are talking about, yet the ideal is for what we are paying. So as a consumer do we accept subpar services, or do we demand better. The next problem is how good of a consumer are we of government services. I will hypotheses not very good. That is a different argument than today’s though.

And to me this is one reason why the Democrats are clueless. They do not seem to understand us as consumers, our needs as consumers and what we can afford as consumers. They have lofty ideals, yet no understanding of how to effectively implement them. They fight the greed of the donor party in their verbiage yet offer no concrete solutions to counter that greed. Where as mentioned above the same motivator behind greed is what they should use to accomplish their goals. Altruism is wonderful, putting into practice is sainthood. So, what is needed is a compromise to what motivates people to accomplish what is needed that no one wants to pay for or better yet find the ways to pay.

Another simple example and it is a policy idea I write occasionally is instead of any blanket tax cuts under the guise of trickle-down theory lies, is to give corporations tax cuts once they accomplish certain goals, whether it be retraining, new hires, better wages, etc…. This is a very simple example, but hopefully it illustrates the point of a more beneficial give and take in public policy.

A more difficult example is the clean air and water problem.  Frankly it is not the government’s responsibility to clean up after business, however, the Democrats have institutionalized this into the Federal government. We need clean air and water, so our government needs to make some decisions. I have espoused ideas for that before, but I do not see the Democrats defining how to either afford for the government to take on this responsibility or be more forceful in demanding companies clean up after themselves. Sure, there is the EPA and on occasion we fine or sue the company, but are the payments from the companies enough to cover the damage? In most cases, no. Everyone knows we need clean air and water and I even suggest by having clean air and water our healthcare costs on the individual and society level will decrease and significantly. Yet, it is like the haircut for me. We do not want to be bothered with the effort. This is where some people delegate the authority to a party such as the Democrats, yet has our environment improved? Some, yet, but we are falling further behind in the big picture. The Democrats cannot find what motivates people and companies to address this issue well.

One more example and this is the bigger picture item that we require government to be part of yet find difficult to implement and that is infrastructure and infrastructure that is more than road and bridge upkeep. Two examples of public policy being successful are the St. Lawrence Seaway in the 1800’s and the interstate highway system of the 1950’s. The difference we need to look for though is more private investment and less reliance on the government to tax us to accomplish these larger goals. We need constant improvement in our country and even on occasion multi-dimensional behemoths that benefit and affect the whole country. The St Lawrence Seaway, the railroads, and the highway system benefit all aspects of society. For example, the highway system was actually designed so the government could move resources around in this country if we were attacked, yet businesses and individuals all benefit from this project to this day in a myriad of ways. I see a project of this size that this country needs, and we need it, yet the Democrats if elected could not even begin to manage it, especially the balance of private investment into something that benefits all of society on an equal playing field. In the above examples that worked, corporate greed played a big part in their accomplishment, the taxpayer funded most of it, but benefitted disproportionally less than the corporations. The public in general benefited, true, but not the same as the corporations.  Balancing this discrepancy, both in cost and benefits, is where I see the Democrats failing.

In fact, it is the total balance of all the Democrats tout they want versus being able to understand what the government consumer, the taxpayer, can afford or is willing to accept. Or just as important, balancing the public’s understanding of what they need versus what they are willing to think they need or what they will pay. Education is something most people of all political persuasions believe is a need, determining what is a good education, what is an affordable education and what is the best education for the buck is what our government should be working to achieve. We pay taxes for our children’s education. We should expect the people we elect to figure how to fulfill the need. The Democrats cannot balance this in their public policy, nor even their proposals, or campaign promises. If you disagree with me, then why hasn’t public education improved over the years, when in reality it is declining and compared to other countries, we are inferior.  If the Democrats could manage this, do you not think the current scenario would be different? And isn’t better education something that they say falls under their platform? Or worse, the failure of the Great Society programs that have institutionalized poverty and welfare. Great idea, wonderful concept, absolute disaster, both financially and in achieving any goals of reducing poverty.

The Democrats inability to manage wants, needs, and needs we do not want in policy development, nor their ability to create successful programs that accomplish goals, yet stay within budget are why the Democrats are clueless. Nor are they able to counter, what the Republicans have done to diminish our ability to grow as a country and for example the wealth gap that is a symptom of us being in decline. The Democrats will talk wonderful ideals with absolutely no clue as to the how.

Going into the deep end for last week recap part 2

I am still trying to wrap my head around last week and we are halfway through this week and it is only getting worse. The Khashoggi story is only intensifying and our lovely President says it was the worst cover up ever. Exactly who is he supporting with this? How about worst tragedy against the press in recent memory? Am I taking this out of context? I do not think so. And he still hasn’t supported major sanctions against the country.

Now Putin says we are no longer a world power and Trump listens well. What the heck does this mean?

Everyone on the planet knows our hugest glaring hypocrisy is undying support of oil over everything else. If we overcome, not our reliance on oil, but our perspective on how we treat the world versus the use of oil then maybe we change much for the better. Yet, our President is a big fossil fuel supporter and is avoiding any major hiccup with the Saud. He says it is to protect American jobs for the arms purchases. And here comes our hypocrisy again, where support of a murderous regime is couched in a bogus job play to the American people. And people will call me un American because I speak the truth.

Oil is not our country. All it takes is to change the verbiage cheap “oil” with cheap “fuel” and you can fast see how unnecessary oil could become if we change to renewable energy. And here is the real rub. Oil is an upside-down pyramid for us, the point of the pyramid pointing in a negative direction. This is fueled by the fours sides of the pyramid all being negative. One side is geopolitical problems we keep getting ourselves into, the second is the pollution oil and oil by products cause, the third is climate change, and the fourth is the cost to the consumer. And the fourth is not just the price of oil and gas, but the healthcare costs because of air and water pollution, the cleanup costs of spills and other pollutants such as the large plastic island in the Pacific Ocean, and a person could go on for a long, long time.

Every product and by product of oil is replaceable except maybe as a lubricant to machinery. And most products that replace the oil by products are recyclable. So, the dynamics of evolving off oil creates many more jobs than we lose by easing off oil. It is the greed of a very small group of people that is destroying this country. Yes, they sell some benefits to a few others who invest in oil this group props up, but overall there is much to be gained and more wealth generation for more people by replacing oil with other products. Plus, the benefits to our health and the environment save untold amounts of money in the future.

And this is just all about the Saudi murder that the above is regurgitated. President Trump then came up with the brilliant statement he should have the armed forces guard the border, build new bases on the border to stop a 5-7000 caravan of potential illegal immigrants. I, for one, agree we need a complete overhaul of our immigration laws. There are some things that must give, we just cannot blindly think everyone coming here has altruistic motives. That is just naïve, but this sending the army to the border is astronomically stupid and a monstrous waste of money. The Wall is a waste of money. The President is a waste of money. We are already running deficits no one can manage. Where does he think the money would come from for his new bases and redeployment of military resources? It is all noise to try and get his base to the polls in a few weeks. And if he did anything we go back to the cost problem.

Can, we the people, sue him for breach of contract. He is the President by God, shouldn’t he be held accountable for truth and proper representation to the people and our values instead of lie after lie. I understand politicians make promises to get elected, but he has gone so far beyond that concept, he is tearing up the contract between our government and the people that the government will protect and serve the people. And most importantly answer to them. He lies with such disregard for the truth. We, the people, have a right to have a President that is held accountable to what he tells us and what he tells us can be backed up with facts. “I have pictures of Comey and Mueller hugging and kissing” Heck, the FBI cannot find any. Theses blanket, irrational base triggers to inflame, lies must be dealt with at some level. And the same goes for Fox News. Can we not sue them for breach of contract to the public also since they call themselves news, but register as entertainment and do not meet the requirements of a true news media outlet? Where is the accountability for this constant barrage of insults to anyone who cares truly about our Constitution, values and country?

And on a side note, what the heck are the Democrats actually going to do? Outside of a rising democratic-socialist platform, they do not know what to do. And the pretentious left keeps stepping on their own toes. Megyn Kelly apologizing for making a blackface comment. Heck she isn’t even part of the pretentious left, but she just jumped right on a slippery slope and landed flat on her behind trying to act like she knew something. She fit right in quicker than quick. The whole pretentious establishment is so lost the dotted lines out of the maze have disappeared.

So Trump cannot get out of his way, the Pretentious left is running around in circles, the Republican leadership cannot make up its mind to either jump fully on board with the part of the party that supports Trump and go off the deep end to hold onto their jobs or what I do not know, Ted Cruz has taken hypocrisy to a new level, stratospheric level that is, and now he makes me want to puke on a minute by minute basis, shoot he was bad enough four years ago; the alt right conspiracy machine is the only job creating machine right now, and speaking of conspiracies; is the immigrant caravan a planned action, where did these pipe bombs come from, how bad is the Saudi thing really, and what will we hear from our President to protect them, John what’s his face is now kowtowing to Putin and finally how owned is Trump by Putin? And the last one isn’t a conspiracy I fear.

And no one knows squat. The market could bounce up or go in free fall due to algorithmic trading. Corporate profits rely on last year’s tax cut to keep stock holders happy, does anyone know how to run a real business, retail is about to crash, Trump wants new tax cuts and last years’ are driving us deeper into debt, God only knows what would happen to Social Security and Medicare if Paul Ryan wasn’t retiring, it is bad enough McConnell is running the Senate so the deal is on the table for the destruction of America’s safety net, Ryan would have sealed it, ripped that to shreds right in front of everyone smiling away saying how great the future will be. I once had hope for him. Calls himself a Christian, and oops do not get me started on the fake Christians or the Evangelical leaders. They are right up there with Teddy Cruz.

And these are just a few of the stories about the meltdown of what was the greatest promise on the planet. And believe it or not, I still have faith we can turn this disaster around, however, the work load keeps piling up to make the changes necessary. If I didn’t have faith, I wouldn’t be angry, but right now the anger is so painful I cannot see past the end of my nose, or feel like I am walking with every step grinding away at the bottom of my feet like rocks cemented into the shoes and those shoes glued to your foot.

And on top of it all the Mavericks blew a 20+ lead in a game and lost. How crazy is that? Even the small insignificant just for fun life is insanely painful.

Have a great evening everyone and especially someone in South Carolina. My advice: stay anonymous, invest in you, invest in the future, invest in society, give to real programs that foster innovation and ways to bring people out of poverty and enjoy life. Cheers!

Going into the deep end trying to recap the week

I am still upset at everything. Or at least it appears that way to me after this week. And I did manage to write myself some cryptic notes this time, just not well enough after reading them. Baby steps are better than no steps.

How to get started or where to start? I guess I could start with an area I support. Right now I think what is the current version of the #metoomovement is off the rails. I sincerely believe there are many women who have suffered abuse and have kept it quiet for years and what they Republicans did to Prof. Ford was way out of line. Actually there are probably many adjectives to mention in what they did. None of them positive. The issue is some group needs to develop some type of framework to help women, to develop plans so they can bring (I am having a hard time with a word here, I almost typed credible and that is not the problem) the charges to light and support the victim. Again I fully believe many women have suffered, yet there are women who will take advantage and then other women, for reasons unknown to me, don’t believe other women when it comes to any charges or women bringing to light past suffering.  

 Do they organize into something dynamic as the suffrage movement of 100+ years ago? They may need to. Obviously I am a guy and if any guy has any cajones he can admit they know someone or someones that were jerks somewhere in their life. Just flat out jerks to women. I ran into someone last night at an event and may never see him again, just being a prick about women. This is an education and I don’t mean public school, but lessons that should be taught by parents education that would stop some of these jerks. Some guys just won’t get it. And I said won’t on purpose.

The real issue is the men who will abuse women, whether physically, emotionally, sexually, or a combination. This is where something needs to coalesce. I do not have any ideas, but whatever is left of the me-too movement or groups that want to follow up to the Prof Ford debacle need to do something. Otherwise two months from now, women will have the same problem they have always had. And for those ignorant of being a conservative, this falls under the Pro-Life concept: respect of life from conception to natural death. Maddening to me the political pro life people, who say they are pro life to get people to vote for them to only abuse others throughout life.  Oh, excuse me Mr. President, didn’t mean to bump into you. And I know some will try and legislate change, this is different from the suffrage movement. Changing this behavior takes a large education front, with some legislation changes that toughen penalties. Education will need to start at home, so more multi-media, social media interaction will be more important than trying to change a few laws by themselves. I am a conservative, but reading history teaches you cannot legislate morality. Improving mores comes from home and society.

I have run out of time for now and after thinking about it I am going to continue in a different post, probably call it the same as above continued. Two reasons to move on, one no time as mentioned and two I will truly be in the deep end for the next two topics. They both involve Trump and if you have read the news this week you can guess where I am going to go. How did this country get so ignorant and gullible that 30-40% believe anything he says, much less find it credible? I know part of the answer, but even that doesn’t explain it all. Scarily amazing.

A few things on a wet and chilly fall day

I would say American politics is like the WWE, but that would be insulting to the WWE. All we have are staged fights, dramatic POS arguments, that no longer benefit or entertain the audience. At least the WWE knows where its bread is buttered and entertains their fans and gives them something of value for their money. Our politicians are just sucking away our values.

Besides the horror, the atrocity, the lies, the crime of it all, the Khashoggi murder proves that the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia has used this country for too long, way too much oil greed is destroying our values, Citizens United decision and money influence in our country are destroying our Constitution, and how people at the top care so little about people in general. The whole incident is a crime against humanity, decency, values, and at some point, we need people who put values above money to lead our country. You can make money tomorrow, you cannot replace the loss of dignity and humanity and specifically a person’s life.

Being lucky and have something good happen to you sometimes are the same thing, sometimes they are completely different.

Random thoughts,,, but not like Jack Handy

6 bonus points if you get that reference, pretty common so not many points

I keep saying I need to write stuff down so I will remember it, again a fail. For some reason I keep thinking I will remember everything……….what part of my brain cannot figure this out, amazes me.

The frustration of having an undisciplined train of thought brain… could type forever, but the train never arrives at a station.

And it is still better than the Cowboys. The entire town is ready for the offensive coordinator to go, which probably means the entire town is not far from wanting Garrett to go (Jerry also?). Why is it so hard to run Zeke and throw crossing patterns with an occasional long pass play mixed in. Line up 1000 different sets and run Zeke up the middle, gaps, or off tackle on all of them.  My 8-8 prediction is looking optimistic. Right now the Texas Rangers have a better chance to make the post season than the Cowboys and baseball post season has already started. Thank goodness the Stars started well and the Mavs have a chance to start well.

And it is all better than rich people’s hell; which is watching from the after-life their descendants wasting away the fortune they built.

It is raining here in North Texas tonight, but I will keep what we have. Another hurricane is coming and expected to hit the Florida panhandle. Let’s hope it doesn’t strengthen too much before it makes landfall.

Are you beat up enough yet?

It seems the Kavanaugh situation is bringing up the ugliest in American politics. And we all know American politics has been ugly at times. This situation though is what we do not want to see.

It isn’t just the grandstanding either. Our politics includes grandstanding as part of it’s regular routine. This situation has brought the grandstanding to new lows.

People say they are tired of talking about politics, yet we still do. People want answers and we want our leaders to have them. This country has survived on the public believing our leaders will find an answer to any troubles our country faces. And many times, leaders have come to the forefront and brought us through dark times. Sometimes we have been blessed and we have leaders that take charge and guide us to new directions.

Now that confidence is waning. People are angry and cannot determine who they are angry against. They think they know. We have come to the point where sides matter too much and the whole be damned.  And no one is coming to the forefront to give us something we can rally around. Some people think they have someone they can rally around, however, it is only their misguided anger that fuels their energy. Misplaced anger historically does not lead to much good.

Yet, day after day we are bombarded with hate, anger, lies, finger pointing, inability to concede a point no matter how trivial, and neither side realizes they both are the problem. Any rational political point cannot be made by either side. There are still good liberal and still good conservative ideas. There are not good Democrat or Republican leaders. Last Thursday’s day long hearing was one long drawn out pontification. Yes, the Democrats acted superior, but they were grandstanding just as much as the Republicans. Senators speaking for themselves acting like they were making points for Professor Hill. Kavanaugh either unable to contain an honest anger because he is being falsely accused or completely off the rails because everything that is being said about him is true. Your answer depends on which side you fall. Generally, people say the truth falls in the middle and most times that is true. This time I do not think so. There is a horrible truth in this situation and if it were ever able to be proved the other side still will not accept a reality that goes against their worldview.

We are beating ourselves up unbelievably. It seems the heart and soul of this country is looking for a heart and soul and completely unable to find it. And maybe because we are looking in the wrong places. I rant and rave constantly that we need new leadership, even make half hearted attempts to describe what that new leadership should do when it comes to public policy. To find good leaders though seems to be a needle in a haystack search right now. And as beat up as we are, one leader will not suffice. We need new leadership to replace this my side is better than your side mentality, so it may take many people coming together and finding more than common ground, but people with the character to sit this country down and as they say; tell it like it is. Unfortunately, easier said than done. We have been lied to by the so-called leaders of both sides. I know the people on each side say, I am wrong it is the other side, yet my argument that I always make and has never been disproven is if one side actually did better than why have the middle class and the working class economic situation deteriorated over the last few decades, why is public education declining, why is the wealth gap increasing more and more each year, why is good public policy so difficult to implement and the list goes on. There are hundreds of sound ideas brought forth daily by various groups.

The cyclical election cycle produces much talk, yet no action. The Democrats scream about the greed of the Republicans, so why are the above points still continuing? Where is the help? Each base has been lied to religiously, yet each base denies the sins of their leaders. The media is biased and feeds the masses a new opiate even more dangerous than Karl Marx’s religion opiate warning. There use to be a concept of a moral compass. Today that compass is nowhere to be found.

We are still a great people and country. And to me that is the most maddening fact about the demise of our government over the last few decades. When you talk to most people one on one, rational thought is still the norm. People have desires for our country. People want the best for each other. Okay outside of a few envious moments, people do. People love their lives, they just want to be able to enjoy them. Yet when it comes to applying a set of standards to our leaders it seems to be impossible. We go brain numb. Every single one of our senses, our logic, our power to reason, it all disappears. It is sucked into a vacuum that no one can turn off.

Our history is full of people overcoming obstacles and rising to greatness. We do more for the world just by making ourselves better. We led. Now we do not. And I do not blame anyone in particular, I blame myself to everyone.

And this post has gone on much longer than I wanted. So, …

The real question is have we beat ourselves up enough yet, that we want to stop and find our heart and soul again.  Our greatness is not because of our politicians, it is because of us. Time to look inwards because that is where our heart and soul are to be found.

[And just to be clear, none of this is about President Trump. He is a completely different POS nutcase and how he got to where he is, shows how far we have fallen. As I always say when you keep voting for the lessor of two evils, sooner or later evil has won enough that is all we have left. Clinton v. Trump were the worst possible choices imaginable in 2016, yet we still got there and is proof positive we have lost our heart and soul.]

It isn’t about Pro-Life, but it is

A few days ago, I said I didn’t want to write anything about the Kavanaugh situation. Okay I changed my mind.

One of the reasons the so-called conservatives want to have Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court is because he supports the Pro-life cause. I do not know him, so I do not know how supportive he is as an individual. There are other reasons the so-called conservatives want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and they are more nefarious. Okay in my opinion there are some reasons that are nefarious and since it is truly subjective on my part I am keeping those to myself.

The Pro-Life reasoning though has some heaping bits of hypocrisy in what happened in the hearing on Thursday. If you are truly Pro-life, you know it is the respect of life from conception to natural death. It is not just the support of unborn children. So, how come Professor Ford was not treated with respect or her situation treated with respect by certain members of the committee that supposedly support Pro- life causes?

Women should not be treated secondarily if you are truly pro-life. And issues of sexual assault should be just as important to any Pro-life person as protecting the life of an unborn child. Again, Pro-Life is dignity of life from conception to natural death for all.

Just a quick thought on a dreary Saturday afternoon here in North Texas.

Who should be in charge

If you want the free market to work, then all players need to have skin and benefit in the game. Currently the consumers and workers are losing both. This imbalance cannot be sustained without consequences. What those may be, no one knows, but eventually when the world is out of balance something will attempt to rectify it.

I prefer we keep our values and Constitution so hopefully we can put things back in balance through the means our forefathers created. Unfortunately, the large corporations have built up so much moneyed influence in Congress for their own greed this imbalance is growing out of control. Their greed is so predominant they think they can treat the workers and consumers as their serfs. We are to accept what they give us without question. Our input as a consumer is going by the wayside. We buy what they provide with no choice and ever rising prices and lessening quality and service with our opinions or are money as consumers having no value in the corporations’ eye. And as we all know, wages are stagnant for the middle and working class, while the income and wealth gap grows for the donor class.

Government when it tilts and represents one side over the other is failing in its purpose. Government, as per our Constitution and philosophy, is to create a balance where everyone has opportunity and no one is treated inferior. The current failure of our Congress to represent the whole of the country instead of just a few will come back to haunt all of us. The donor class will never see this, yet eventually the reality is the scales will want to balance. I hope we never run across a time where people try to overcompensate the scales in the other direction.

We must act together to hold our Congress responsible for the good of the whole country and not just the few before it is too late. I, for one, am tired of being treated like a serf so let’s work to resolve the imbalance before too many get to my feelings and they try to rebalance in unproductive ways.

So, to not answer the question, when someone thinks they are in charge, problems are inevitable.

Sometimes it just isn’t crazy enough

Okay so I am being a bit sarcastic, yet day to day living can get a bit monotonous.

Our President came out on the campaign trail talking about winning and people have jumped on the term winning to get back at him. Truth though is ugly, the only people that win are Mother Nature and Father Time. The best we can do is adapt. We can stay healthy and we can keep our planet healthy, but if we don’t we lose big time.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the President’s wall. He brought this back up saying the Republicans need to toughen up and fund this wall. I agree we need serious immigration overall. What that may look like I am not sure right now. And I have said this before many times, we do not need the largest graffiti board on this planet, especially paid for by us. Mexico and the US do not need this wall, nor the madness attached to it. Biggest waste of money you can imagine. We need not just immigration reform, but a complete overall. And I am referring to this in a positive way, where we actually sit down and determine how we want to approach our economy and how immigration can benefit us. Our current Congress is not up to the task.

And while I am on the topic of craziness, I am upset at all the people that ride scooters around. If I was younger I would probably love them. And even now, I would like to try them out. I do not think people realize how fast they are going in relation to where they are in traffic or wherever they are. I live in downtown and I have no idea what these riders are thinking. They are going full speed on sidewalks and I guess they do not realize the blind spots they are running up against with drivers. And how vulnerable they are if a car hits them. I walk to work and it is bad enough they are going full speed around corners and almost hit people walking. Or riding out into traffic, I saw one guy in a bike lane make a left in front of a car in the regular lane. The car had to slam on its brakes and the guy on the scooter either had no idea of what he did or didn’t care. Two seconds away from death and no reaction. They look cool, but the people riding them are working hard to win the Darwin Awards.

And while I am on the topic of being pissed, I just do not understand that corporations or companies are pushing for people to pay online for so many different services. I cannot buy into this idea. Sounds convenient, however since we are a business first culture I am worried who is responsible if you get ripped off or your information or money gets stolen from all these apps or pay by text or whatever. You know damn good and well it won’t be the business. Consumer be damned. This is ripe for the old phrase: buyer beware. I saw a parking lot advertise to pay by text. Seriously, you think they are going to be responsible for your information. Time we hold businesses responsible for what they want us to do.

For this post and in general overall the music video STOP MAKING SENSE seems appropriate. Great music, wonderful concert concept, and great title for the modern world though made in the 1980’s. Shoot Washington stopped making sense decades ago. It is a shame that Remains in Light and Speaking in Tongues do not get the main stream recognition they deserve. Talking Heads were a great band and these two albums were way underrated by the commercial world. Maybe I should take up drumming. Ha ha ha

Cheers everyone and Fall is upon us officially this weekend. Enjoy the good of cool weather. Still love summer, but hey a good clean crisp cool morning is a great moment. Yet through it all the Doors "Summer's Almost Gone" haunts my memories every time we make this seasonal transition.