Somewhat fascinating and actually horrifying

Well the better half and I made the effort. We went down to the AAC to see President Trump. We didn’t attempt to get in, we watched the large screen overlooking the plaza like way too many others. We were not on the Plaza, but in a spot off the street to see and definitely hear his speech. I say that because they had the speakers up loud. We did not watch the whole speech, but we could hear it for a couple of blocks as we walked away.

We got there early and the crowd was very pleasant. Afterwards many people were posting on social media how wonderful the crowd was and they are correct. Many people waited patiently, everyone was very friendly, they were enjoying being out, even though there was mounds of trash, it was all put in the same place, piled up on overflowing trash cans, yet no massive amounts of litter all over the streets.  Nothing untoward at all. A protest march tried to walk through the crowds and they stayed on the street and outside of one young girl trying to walk through the Trump crowd and a cop straightening her out real quick there were no incidents that I saw. We walked around a bit before it started.

The better half wanted to see the motorcade, but by the time we were close to that side of the AAC it had already arrived. We missed that but lingered about waiting for the speech to start.

I am going to go back to some social media posts. Some posts overestimated the crowd size, some spoke wonderfully about friends and people they met, all posted how excited they were to be there, yet did not see one that talked about his speech. This was a campaign rally and no one mentioned any platform or ideas he expressed. None really commented anything at all about the meat of the speech. There may have been some that did, however, I did not read any. And I think I know why.

His speech was frightening, not because of what he said, but because of what he didn’t say and how the crowd reacted. We left after twenty plus minutes and I know it went on much longer, but he didn’t say anything substantial. Absolutely nothing, nada, zip, zero nothing.

He stood there and basked in the crowd’s adoration, called people names, told us how wonderful he is, how wonderful his Presidency is, what he has done without citing any references, statistics, except some very broad numbers and very unverifiable, he gloated, he waved, he pointed to a person every now and then, told everyone how crazy others are, even made the circle motion around his ears a few times, yet did not say anything that would make you think I want to hear more.

And the crowd loved it. They cheered, they booed, they applauded, they were euphoric and it was scary. Here were normally rational people being hypnotized by hot air. He bragged about the wall without any specifics, he bragged about employment numbers without any specifics, everything he did was the best, the greatest, no other President like him, but never said anything. And the crowd ate it up. He would step back from the podium, stand there with his nose in the air, smiling,  turning around to stare at the crowd, letting them soak him in, and yes I said that they way I wanted to, he definitely reveled in the adoration. It was maddening to watch. Nothing to really sink your teeth into in what he said, but the crowd was full on board to everything he said. And these were the people outside. I guess since they waited and couldn’t get in, they would be more fanatical. I do not know. You could hear and partially see the crowd on the screen, and they were just as pumped up.

I do not know what to tell you. It was spooky and not in the fun Halloween style. It is going to be very hard to separate his base from him. They are true believers and watching the change come over the crowd when he came on was something to behold, I grant you. Also seeing him though you realize he is not stable, just the look on his face and in his eyes leads a person to believe there is something not right going on inside him. The better half felt he was like the leader in the Hunger Games. I fear much worse.

On a separate note, will someone stop H. Clinton from getting involved before she thinks she has some influence or something. Please and very soon. 2016 was bad enough, anything close to a repeat is another horror story.

And a random comment. Have you seen the ads for the new Terminator movie? I thought he was a robot in the movie, yet they have ole Arnold, well as old, without even trying to well I do not know, but it isn’t a good plot line to have an old terminator. Just doesn’t work realistically, but then again apparently, we, Americans, are willing to accept anything as long as we like it.

Some critical thinking education is desperately needed.

The Dallas Mavericks start play tomorrow and the NBA has its two starting games tonight. I am excited., The conversation around here is about who is the fifth starter. I have my views, but for some reason I keep missing out on responding to articles that have this discussion. By the time I read something the article is a day old and no one else is commenting. I tried earlier on one, but the battery on my phone quit so I lost the whole post and I was 90% complete. Some quick thoughts.

As the team stands the two major areas of weakness are rebounding and a true lock down defender. I feel then we need to adjust by concentrating on the players with the highest shooting percentage and the players that can play the best team defense and switch well. The fifth starter should be someone who meets those two requirements to help us overcome where other teams may have an advantage. Two bonuses would be helping to keep the turnovers down and be able to create some turnovers for the other team. We miss too many shots and the other team out rebounds us, we will get outscored significantly. Obvious, but that is where this team stands right now. Let’s see what happens. I am going to be optimistic and put $2 down in Vegas on the Mavericks winning the Championship. Why not, I have a friend going this week.

Eventually I will get back to the story I recently started. It didn’t start as well as I wanted, but that is on me. I need to inspire myself to make this effort and test myself.

Cheers

Two stupid people

Well that wasn’t very Christian of you, where did that come from? Maybe the better half?

By the way Trump is speaking at the American Airlines Center here in Dallas tomorrow.
Beto is speaking in Grand Prairie tomorrow.

There goes the neighborhood.

According to one of my neighbors who went and checked it out they are lining up down the road that runs along side the AAC to see Trump. Apparently there are quite a few characters. I thought people only people watched in Las Vegas.

They are acting more like it is a rock star than the President. Too bad I do not llike the music. There was a Doors medley running through my head this morning on the way to work. Thoroughly enjoyed that, maybe I should kick up the ole youtube and actually listen to a couple of tunes.

Sorry no story tonight, tired, but received good news from the medical profession today. I live until tomorrow at least. Well lets hope, there are still a couple of hours left in this day.

We pray everyone remains peaceful tomorrow and the events are only events and not newsworthy.

Cheers

Lets start with an idea from the better half

As regular readers know I feel the Reps and Dems have failed us and I am always saying we need new parties. Yet I am all talk and no action. I have researched a few things, but no real action. Yet lo and behold the better half struck me twice.

First I found out she does listen to me. Apparently she has heard me rant and rail enough to know exactly how I feel about our political morass. So the other morning over breakfast she hits me with this idea. I should start a campaign for candidates. This is her exact verbiage “campaign for candidates”.

And then she explained what she meant. And I am sitting there dumbfounded because A) she proved she listens to me and B) this is a great idea for what I want.

I always say we need to recruit new candidates for office. Exactly how does a person accomplish this goal is one question in my mind. She explained you have town hall type forums, (town hall is my term) invite the public letting them know you have an opportunity to speak your mind. Once everyone has spoken you afford the attendees an opportunity to choose which ideas best represent you and they then try to encourage the person to run. 

This concept can bring new ideas to the forefront and reinforces to people that there are more people that think like them, hence it is easier to convince someone to run for office. An open forum for debate, discussion, exchange of ideas and none of it tied to either of the current political parties. Many indepenents and dissatisfied Reps and Dems can realize there are other options. 

At one point many localities were trying to develop economic incubators as ways to grow small businesses. And I still think this is a good idea, now we have  a similar idea to grow new government or new policy or new participants in government. 

So now I am really stuck with what do I do next because I have been called out. Anyone want to help me drag this from my lazy backend into a productive reality. It still needs people to start and since I am an introvert I need to crawl ot of my shell and find an avenue to get this started. Lets hope my better half’s good idea does not go to waste. I will have to mull this over.

Earlier today I had a whole host of random comments. They seem to have disappeared instantaneously. 

Something about Trump cannot say he kept a campaign promise by bringing the troops home from Syria and not fighting endless wars anymore, yet there are other ramblings about troops being sent to Saudi Arabia. Cannot pick and choose when you are fulfilling a campaign promise and when you are either self dealing or flat out lying. If we really want to end all these endless wars we need to get off oil, yet here is the man who makes fossil fuels the be all end all to the future. He is one large walking contradiction.

Or Elizabeth Warren and her wealth tax, you just cannot tax the wealthy and expect it to solve problems. We need to tax the wealthy, but there has to be a goal with how you do it and what you expect to accomplish with rationale. The obvious one is to help reduce the deficit, but even that will need cost reductions alongside the extra taxes. My argument is it is payback time. The decline of education in this country is one by product of the 1% buying off Congress.

Their gain is they are paying for a better educated country to help rebuild our economy. The wealth horders don’t want a better educated country, but talk to people who are true business people and they know they need a stronger and  more prepared employee to move their business. Success takes many people. If people cannot do the work, or create, or problem solve, the business will fail eventually. True capitalists know this and so do wealth horders. The wealth horders have been running the country into the grown under the guise of capitalism. Hopefully the real capitalists and entrepenuers will wake up and back what is needed. Just taxing the rich because they are rich will only get you push back. Real business people understand investing in the future. 

And a couple of posts ago I said I would start another story. And I had some choices. This time around I am choosing the story that is more an exercise in writing than a story I usually write, yet I do have a story. I said if I chose this route I would have to plan it. Well, I didn’t. I do feel though I need to take on this challenge. It will be like all my others, it will be written in the moment as it is added to my usual madness of posting. One side note I am pulling together another story that I am going to put on Smashwords eventually. It originally started in this blog, but I am making an effort to get some feedback and do smething with it. I actually got some good feedback and now I have to force myself to follow through. Hopefully soon I will get that done. I will let you know once I am there. For now though, here is the next story and it is a concept or an exercise in a certain type of writing.  Cheers!

_______________________________________________________

Pressure existed. A force pushed down. Nothing changed. Constantly the same pressure existed. The same force pushed down without an increase or a decrease. Yet, the pressure seemed to go straight through and the same force and pressure pushed down further. There was no movement only the force existed and it came from on top and moved through and pushed on and on through and further down. It was a resting force.

At times somewhere else there existed something. It made its presence known. Occassionally the pressure was slightly affected, maybe there was movement that pushed the pressure to the side for a moment. Things would settle down and the pressure would be the same. Other than the occasional side movement, there was no change. Or it seemed that way.

At one point the pressure eased. And then it shifted. The same pressure existed. It still pushed down, on, and then through and the pressure went down. 

Eventually the pressure eased again, shifted again. This time the pressure shifted, but changed. The pressure still pushed down, on, and through and the pressure went down. Yet once the shifting ended, the pressure pushed down with less force. It existed, but it wasn’t the same. It still pushed down, it still was on and still went through, yet there was a difference. 

Another time it happened again. And again the pressure was different. The pressure was less. Other than that there was no change.

This change happened multiple times until eventually the pressure was non-existent. The shift would happen. And then the release of pressure. 

A violent shifting took place. The side to side movement now increased dramatically. The pressure almost disappeared and in its place was rocking and shifting. The side to side movement was dramatically different. The movement changed and headed in the same direction. The pressure was still there, still pushing down, but very slightly, but it was on and then through still pushing down.

The movement stopped. The resting pressure came back, only very slight. What was pressing down still existed, but disappearing. Now there was new shifting and each shift brought less and less pressure. Pushing down yet even going further down the pressure eased. 

There was upheavel, there was violent shifting and up and down motion, each motion created a new motion. Some was side to side, other times it was up and down. This upheavel stopped. The pressure was still there, yet ever so slight. The movement jerked again and there was a new resting place. Some pressure still existed, pushing down, on and through. Now the movement was regular and with each shift the pressure lessened again. 

Then more violence. The pressure completely vanished. The movement was constant. Then there was a different pressure applied, ever so slight. The surface changed and contained another element. Also very slight. It did not increase or decrease the pressure. The movement continued. 

Once the movement stopped there was no pressure. Nothing pressing down, on and through. Complete freedom all around, only the slightest of pressure that moved that affected different spots. 

Movement began again. There was a new pressure that existed in only one spot. This movement changed directions. And then there was no longer connection to anything. The movement changed direction randomly until it stopped. After it stopped, the movement began again. There was pressure in one spot again, Then there was connection. Something attached itself and connected. And now again there was pressure, yet only slight. The resting pressure had come back.

To be continued....

The Republicans are just flat out stupid

They could dump Trump and still win in 2020. They could remove this albatross around this country’s neck and be heroes. 

Why some support him is beyond maddening? Is it really party over country? No, not this bad. Are they being blackmailed? It is way too many. Do they really think a cult of personality is going to lead them to the promised land? Dictatorships headed by one man that rely on a personality to keep everyone in line fail miserably in history. What gives? At this point it is time for the Republicans to wake up and realize there is no future with Trump. 

Again they can dump him and win in 2020. Who among the Democrats is really catching the nation’s attention? Biden is getting a bit of a bump because of Trump’s madness, but long term what are his chances? Many consider Biden a good man, but not too many consider him Presidential. And there is a difference.

People thought Trump was Presidential. He is forceful with his demands. He seemed to stand up to the Swamp. He promoted ideas that some people wanted. In reality it is all fluff. He has nothing, just a big bully that played on people’s anger and fears and got away with it. And unfortunately built himself a cult with the alt right in this country who have gone all in on him. The future though doesn’t exist past Trump. This cult will exist for a time dragging this country down with it.

Who else in the Democratic party is going to capture the nation?Most are too far to the left or are pandering too far to the left to survive the general election. This country is still more moderate and more conservative than the Democratic Party. Why do you think there are or were 20+ candidates running? They know there is no magic man or magic woman. They all think they have a chance and none do.

If the Republicans ran a rational moderate conservative they would win. Not could, would. The platform could be simple. Talk a bit about bringing the taxes back in line, work on cutting the deficit, speak on fixing social security and they would squeak out a simple victory. It would even be nice if they actually came through on a couple of these topics. They won’t, but they could run and win just playing nice. Someone who seemed cool headed and responsible. And isn’t afraid of Trump’s cult.

Alas if you ask me, you know I would want a strong public policy for better education, real fixes for social security, a seriously revamped tax policy, actual work to reduce the deficit, hard core investment in green energy to create new jobs and products for us to export, someone to lead the 21st century in innovation, real infrastructure improvements, yet that will not be. What this country needs most is someone forceful, dynamic, creative and energetic. The Republicans have never had this type of candidate and the Democrats do not have anyone close. 

Yet, the Republicans can save the day. Remove Trump, just blow past his so called base. Expose Trump for the con he is and nominate someone that the bulk of the moderates and middle class can stomach and they win in 2020. It is a shoe in and history will be kind to them. If not, we will have an alternative history that is filled with horror and the downfall of our country. For if we keep Trump, what follows him? That thought should be enough to scare every rational thinking American into action. For some reason, it hasn’t yet. 

So can the Republicans wake up and be smart or are they just that flat out stupid?

Christians, moralists, and hypocrites

Good evening all,

Thought I would talk about something different while Nero Trump is burning down the house.

And I am guessing some of you anti religious people are hoping for a large take down of Christianity or something. Sorry to disappoint. This is a targeted post for people who think they are Christians, but don’t seem to get it.

As you know we always have groups who will espouse the moralist view on us, telling us what we can and cannot do. And most of their moral preaching has something to do with sexuality or promiscuity. They spend thousands of manpower hours telling us how horrible people are if they have too much sex. And quite frankly being promiscuous isn’t healthy, either physically or emotionally. Tonight though we will address other issues. Why?

First off because you can teach morality or teach people why certain behaviors are better than others. It goes back to the old saying you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar. So if you are always denigrating people for not behaving in a moralist way you won’t get much of an audience. If though, you sit down and talk to people get to know them, and work with them about who they are as a person, build some self respect with them, they might be more inclined to listen to you. The moralists in our society just can’t get to that point. Easiser to judge than to teach. And all these moralists love calling themselves Christians. Irks me.

And one reason is because what they do not preach about, or shows they do not boycott, or people they don’t condemn to hell is much worse than sexual promiscuity. There are two topics I am focusing on tonight.

One is barbaric fighting, the MMA, the cage fights, the concept of putting people in a cage to fight for the sheer enjoyment of others. Exactly how is this not against the teachings of Christ? If Christ teaches we are to respect each other and love our neighbor as we love ourselves, then what the heck. And don’t sit there and go what a wimp because I see this barbarism as wrong. There are times to fight. It is a requirement to stand up to tyranny, oppression, slavery, violent cults etc..., but to fight just so others can obtain thrills or enjoyment is taking civilazation down an ugly path, Yet where are all the moralists now? Why does the destruction of another human being receive any less attention from people who say they are Christians than the sexual destruction of a person? Sleeping around to the point you are diseased and depraved is not good and actually people should talk to you about this behavior, yet so is beating another human to the point of severe injuries considered a “sport” not good. What is the moral difference? From the Christian perspective and other religions there shouldn’t be a difference. Or at least you would think. Somehow there is one. Or maybe I live in a sheltered world and do not hear their outrage. Lets hope that is the case.

And now it gets worse. Moral outrage is one thing, completely ignoring the large amount of popular culture that glorifies evil is another. Movies, TV shows that glorify evil, monsters, demons is more than scary. This obsession with accepting this entertainment as just entertainment is more than a moral outrage. This is downright debiliating to a society. How can a young person determine what is right and wrong or what is good or just when they grow up with horror as something that is acceptable? What happens when they see real horror? When someone does something truly evil? How does this affect them? Do they become so desensitized that genocide or brutal rape or murder do not register with them as something that is not acceptable? Is evil nothing more than a joke? A Friday night date that registers in the subconscious that you do not need to fear this stuff? How can the glorification of a monster or demon be considered healthy entertainment for young people? Shoot for anyone? You may say, it is nothing, we all know it is a movie. Do we? Deep down could we tell the difference when it matters? Yes, you say? 

We don’t care when people lie to us anymore. The lies are so pervasive they are the norm. And I am not talking Trump, I am talking everything. Everywhere you go someone is trying to get you to do something for them. And depending on the gravity of the need they do anything and everything to get you to fall in line. And we have become so desensitized to lying we know we are being lied to and still do what goes against our interests. And you dear reader are as guilty as I. We want to do better, it just gets harder and harder to fight against the lies. This is why we struggle at all levels of society. Rich or poor someone is lying to you or will lie to you soon. Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, connect to socia media, someone is trying to sell you something and they are targeting you. They have gotten to know you. And you accept it because it is easier to click off than deal with the reality. And then the next time you click back on, the madness keeps coming at you. 

So what makes you think that evil doesn’t work the same way in your brain? Over and over again you watch movies and shows and slowly but surely you succumb to the idea that evil is only another this or that. There is no evil you think as thousands of people are slaughtered in another country because they look different. Children are dragged away from families; young girls sold into sexual slavery; old people beaten; and the list goes on. 

And the moralists.......? not a peep.

We can teach morality. We can offer hope and good. We can show there is a better way, but we have to say something when it matters. Right now it matters yet over and over again, our brains are being trained to rot away because it is only_______.

Hypocrisy is only a word to some people. 

Last time I posted I said I would start a story, sorry not tonight folks. I have decided which story I am going to work on next and it is the one that is different for me in approach. I will stick to my normal write as it comes practice instead of trying to plan it out. I have a small bit in my head, but now it seems I should stick to my general way. It is always more interesting to me to let the story take me along for the ride. 

Cheers

Trump is making us weaker and weaker by the day

And Putin is loving every minute of it,, and unfortunately more and more of the rest of the world

Values do mean something.

Promises kept, okay sort of, and other stuff

I am really trying to keep my promise to wait on the political posts till the start of 2020 when we are in a campaign year, however, our illustrious President is begging me to join the fray. 

I remember Watergate and watched it unfold as a young teenager. As I got older I read more and more about it. I also read the book and saw the movie “All the President’s Men”.  Watergate is what turned me into a news junkie. Too bad nowadays the news is clogged with all sorts of madness. Some from the President’s camp and some is from the Pretentious Left, too little of it is facts right now. The President and team are lying, but we do not know how much because the Pretentious left is guessing based on morsels of information. They say they know stuff, but God forbid they may only know the tip of the iceberg. I feel Mueller’s investigation was cut short and the Pretentious better get ready because they are going to try and cut short any investigation into the Ukraine call and whatever else is behind it.

And if you hang out in the periphery of society you fondly remember “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72″ and subsequent articles from the National Desk. Too bad certain insight is unavailable to us now. Of course the insight would also be a profanity laced 24/7 rant on the evil of it all.

So to attempt to keep my promise I will bypass the politics for now and concentrate on other matters. Sooner or later  though I fear I will think that impeachment is not politics anymore and join in the madness. I am not above it, I do not claim the high road, I am just avoiding the low road for now. 

The demons are close to taking over the keyboard because one of the biggest demons of them all has taken over our country’s pysche.

 I do want to touch on some ideas about conservative versus liberal and at the National level the Republicans and Democrats are not conservative and liberal anymore. I previously touched on this subject and will come back to it when I do succumb to writing about politics again. The push me pull me of conservative versus liberal is good, the party label of conservative versus liberal is part of the reason we are where we are now. More to come.

And I want to write a story while I force myself to avoid politics. The anger that wells up inside me everytime I watch or read what that man is doing to the Office of the Presidency is unfathonable to comprehend for me. I have to back off the news, which hurts since I use to enjoy reading all the opinion columnists and articles on a Sunday morning. He has taken joy from me. I will continue the fight against myself and go to a more enjoyable internal conflict.

I have ideas for many stories, yet two of them are pushing to the forefront of my brain. One will be treated like I usually do on this blog. I start with a thought or idea and just write. I do not create  story board or any rational nonsense in preparation. I just write a few paragraphs and come back to it the next time I post and write a few more paragraphs until I reach a conclusion. This will not be anything earth shattering, just a bit of sci-fi fun. The premise is found in other sci-fi stories occasionally, yet I hopefully I can apply it differently and have a unique story. Again all for fun.

The second idea is a bit different for me and will require some thought. I will stay true to the blog writing and write as I go along, but the very nature of this idea is a type of story I have not tried before and am curious if I can pull it off. I do not want to plan it out. I still want it spontaneous. When you read it, I hope you understand why it is different. 

So the next time I post I hope to have chosen one to get started and get me through the next couple of weeks without an aneurysm so strong that my brain explodes and covers my computer screen with already burnt out gray matter. 

Finally for today and this is important, no matter how much a sibling or parent or child ticks you off remember family is your most prized position. If not, find a way to make it such. Too many people deride the evangelicals for wanting to have public policy that benefits the family. Yes, they drive me up the wall also, but hear me out. Any representative form of government needs its people to be well educated, financially secure, and well formed in values to say the least. And we need to support each other in creating families that maintain the substance of who we are as a society and country. We need to do more to maintain the stability of families because they are first in the process of forming the next generation. 

And on that thought this weekend has been a very blessed and wonderful weekend. Not every moment went perfect, but my youngest is in town to celebrate her birthday so Friday we went to the State Fair of Texas (GO), yesterday we celebrated one of my grandchild’s birthday, and today most of the women in our family are taking our oldest grandchild to buy the first homecoming dance outfit. And when they come back we are having the official birthday dinner for my youngest. This weekend has been children (yes adult children) and grandchildren all weekend long. And I do mean all weekend. Some of our grandchildren went to the Fair with us and our youngest, then spent the night with us. The next more morning we had the world famous pancakes. After that we packed everyone up and headed to the birthday party. Came home and the oldest stayed with us so the better half could get her up to get ready for the shopping expedition.  Imagine being a young teenager and your Mom, Grandmother, a family friend and two aunts took you shopping. As a guy I would have died on the spot. As a young girl, it has been something she has looked forward to for days, but ha!, they know about the “boyfriend” that is taking her to the dance. Maybe she won’t  be so excited. lol Or maybe all the Dads will be quietly hissed off at the collection of better halves if they encourage this boyfriend madness. More family fun to come. 

Also coming my thoughts on the Cowboys now that we are about a quarter way through the season after tonight and my thoughts on the Mavericks before their season starts. I have no epitath for the Rangers. They gave us hope early on, but quickly took a hard turn the other way by mid season. Next year they get a new ballpark (hope maybe not) which to me is a shame, I liked their current one. It is hot here in Texas so I understand the desire to manage the environment. Some how or another there is serious irony in that last sentence. 

Cheers