Let's Get It Right

The Alt-Right are not White Supremacists. Even the White House incorrectly uses a combination term of "Alt-Right, White Supremacists". That's combining two groups into one. White people are being attacked in the streets and alleys now just for being White. No one has a right to beat up Americans just because of the color of their skin. On Saturday, the Alt-Right were peacefully highlighting the injustice of police, judges and politicians, turning the other cheek as Whites find themselves unsafe walking the streets in their own neighborhoods. The infamous White Buses of ANTIFA rolled in and pandemonium ensued. Even the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes the difference. Here is their description of the “Alt-Right” as such:

"A set of far-right ideologies, groups and individuals whose core belief is that ‘white identity’ is under attack by multicultural forces using ‘political correctness’ and ‘social justice’ to undermine white people and ‘their’ civilization.

HOW SOON WE FORGET

Soon after Bill Clinton took office, he allowed Hillary to assume authority over reforming healthcare. Even after threats and intimidation, she could barely even get a vote in a Democratic controlled congress. This fiasco cost the American taxpayers about $13 million in cost for studies, promotion, and just generally wasted time and money.

Then President Clinton gave Hillary authority over selecting a female Attorney General.  Her first two selections were Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood – both were forced to withdraw their names from consideration.  Next she chose Janet Reno – Bill described her selection as “my worst mistake ever.”  Janet Reno made the decision to gas David Koresh and the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas resulting in dozens of deaths of women and children.  

Then . . . Bill allowed Hillary to make recommendations for the head of the Civil Rights Commission.  Lani Guanier was her selection. When a little probing led to the discovery of Ms. Guanier’s radical views, her name had to be withdrawn from consideration.

Apparently a slow learner, Bill allowed Hillary to make some more recommendations.  She chose former law partners, Web Hubbel for the Justice Department, Vince Foster for the White House staff, and William Kennedy for the Treasury Department.  Consequently, Hubbel went to prison, Foster (presumably) committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.

Then there was “Travelgate.”  Hillary wanted to award unfettered travel contracts to Clinton friend Harry Thompson but the White House Travel Office refused to comply.  So . . . she reported bogus accusations to the FBI and demanded that the entire staff of the White House Travel Office be fired – and they were.  This ruined their reputations, cost them their jobs, and caused a thirty-six month investigation.  Only one employee, Billy Dale was actually charged with a crime, and that was the crime of mixing personal and White House funds.  He was acquitted in less than two hours.

Still not convinced of her ineptness, Hillary was allowed to recommend a close Clinton friend, Craig Livingstone, for the position of Director of White House security.  When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of about 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (Filegate) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, Hillary immediately denied even knowing Livingstone and, of course, denied knowledge of drug use in the White House.  Following this debacle, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office after more than thirty years of service to seven presidents.

When women started coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment and rape by Bill Clinton, Hillary was put in charge of what they called the "bimbo eruption" scandal defense.  Some of her more notable decisions in the debacle were:

Urging her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit. After the Starr investigation however, they settled.  Hillary also refused to release the Whitewater documents, which is what led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor.  After 80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs.  Hillary’s devious game plan resulted in Bill losing his license to practice law for “lying under oath” to a grand jury and then his subsequent impeachment by the House of Representatives. Hillary avoided indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice during the Starr investigation by repeating, “I do not recall,” “I have no recollection,” and “I don’t know” a total of 56 times while under oath.  

Then, after leaving the White House, Hillary was forced to return an estimated $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork that she had stolen.

This is but a general highlight of Hillary’s bazar eight years as the First Lady.  It is common knowledge that she has the foulest mouth, the cruelest temperament and was the least honest person to ever live in the White House.

And now, she is the leading candidate for President of the United States.

MY RECENT TWEETS THAT GOT THE MOST REACTIONS

I've been pretty active on my Twitter page lately. They have a new thing in Twitter that rates your strongest tweets. So I took the top 20 and posted them here. I have a lot of wonderful friends who are Liberals, Democrats and even some who now espouse to be Socialists for the "New World Order". A word of caution to those friends. Reading these just may make your head explode.

___________________________________________________

After two terms of his presidency, Obama never really got it.  Adding more people to the welfare rolls is not a sign of a successful reign.

Hillary remained with Bill all these years, not because she stands by her man, but because she stands by her power.

I've gone from Cruz to Trump - BECAUSE CRUZ IN NOT RUNNING! - And Hillary is no alternative.

The NeverEver Trumpsters are saying that they would rather we go down in flames than to vote for someone who they didn't pick in the primaries.

It is absolutely not racist to be against illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is an activity . . . not a race.

Today I honor the memory of our fathers and grandfathers who were killed protecting us from a socialistic communism that their grandchildren are now embracing in the US.

NeverEver Trumpsters are cutting off their nose to spite their Country.

Hillary in lock-step with the conservative, NeverTrunpsters today with the exact same rhetoric in her campaign speech that they spew in their hatred for him.

Mexico's deputy secretary says if we seize illegal's money that goes back to Mexico, illegals will be forced to do something illegal. Huh?

Ever notice that when Hillary is lying, her eyes get real big? Try it. Go back and play some of her lies. They're all over the Internet.

If Hillary were to abolish the second amendment, only Hillary and other criminals would have guns.

Why is it so important for Liberals to embrace bad people and threaten good people?

Guys, I love Ted Cruz, his love of country, his intellect and his family. But, he's not running anymore!!

Obama has created a land of chaos where we have either bad laws or no law at all. That is his plan to destroy America. And it's working.

We should not vote for a government that tells us what to do, we should vote for a government that does what we tell them to do.

The Bernie thing troubles me. Vast swaths of America is now willing to give up their freedom, their dignity and their spine for free stuff.

Sanders says he's a Democratic Socialist. Democracy and Socialism in the same breath? It's like calling yourself a meat-eating vegetarian.

If a gay baker refused to bake a cake for a Muslim, which side would the Liberal take?

That's it. If you would like to check out my Twitter page feel free to at https://twitter.com/housebrokentoo.  I now have over 8000 followers so you will meet some very interesting people in the mix. 

LIES AND THE LIAR WHO TOLD THEM

It is well known that Hillary is a pathological liar. But that seems to be no big deal to those who would follow her into hell by casting the fatal vote against America's future. There does not seem to be anything the rest of us can do but continue to bring to the surface, over and over again, all of her lies in the hope of opening the eyes of her blind followers.  So here are her five most blatant lies about her email debacle.

• Date: March 2015 [Press conference]
  • Hillary Clinton:  “The system we used was set up for President Clinton’s office. And it had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the Secret Service. And there were no security breaches.”
  • LIE!      Inspector General's Findings: It was reported there were multiple e-mail hacking attempts on Hillary’s server, and she chose not to report those findings to the State Department. Clinton’s server was connected to the internet in ways that made it far more vulnerable to hackers. It allowed users to connect openly over the internet to control it remotely.

    ---

• Date: September 2015 [AP interview]
  • Hillary Clinton: “What I did was allowed. It was allowed by the State Department. The State Department has confirmed that.”
  • LIE!     Inspector General's Findings: There is no evidence Hillary Clinton was granted any approval, nor confirmation from the State Department. Top State Department officials interviewed said the departments that oversee security “did not – and would not – approve” her use of a personal account because of security concerns. Hillary has since changed her statement to “I thought it was allowed.”

    ---

• Date: September 2015 [NBC interview]
  • Hillary Clinton: “It was fully above board. Everybody in the government with whom I emailed knew that I was using a personal email. The people in the government knew that I was using a personal account. The people I was emailing to on the dot gov system certainly knew and they would respond to me on my personal email.”
  • LIE!     Inspector General's Findings: While some of Hillary’s close aids knew about the server, senior department officials who worked for her, including the undersecretary responsible for security, claimed they were NOT asked to approve or review the use of her private server. Officials were also NOT aware of the myriad of e-mails Hillary was sending through her private server per day, which would greatly increase the chances of a security breach.

    ---

• Date: September 2015 [NBC interview, part 2]
  • Hillary Clinton:  “In the fall, I think it was October of last year (2014), the State Department sent a letter to previous secretaries of state asking for help with their record-keeping, in part because of the technical problems that they knew they had to deal with. And they asked that we, all of us, go through our e-mails to determine what was work-related and to provide that for them.”
  • Oh Man What A LIE!     Inspector General's Findings: That simply didn't happen. The State Department raised concerns about Hillary’s compliance and cooperation with federal record-keeping laws years past, and the attention did not appear to be welcoming by her.  Furthermore, two employees in the Office of Information Resources Management voiced concerns about her use of a personal email account in 2010, stressing the information being transmitted needed to be preserved to satisfy federal records laws. They were infamously told “never to speak of the Secretary’s personal email system again” by the department director.

    ---

• Date: May 2016 (CBS interview)
• Hillary Clinton:  “I think last August I made it clear I’m more than ready to talk to anybody anytime.”
• Amazing LIE!     Inspector General's Findings: Completely false. Hillary declined through her lawyer to be interviewed for the report multiple times, while former secretaries John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were always open to discussion. She will be required to speak to the FBI as part of a separate criminal investigation into possible security breaches related to her private server.

Most of this I pulled from Dennis Michael Lynch's website.  I recommend you check him out. He always has a good read going. 

https://www.facebook.com/DMLdaily/?fref=nf

In my next post, we will take a look at the Benghazi lies. Since nearly every statement she makes is some form of another falsehood, research in this topic is actually pretty easy. 

MY QUANDARY

What to do . . . what to do.  I was (still am) a Ted Cruz guy.  He has just what I was looking for in a president.  Although he's a Senator, he is clearly an outsider who walks his own path.  He's brilliant, he loves his country and I had no doubt that he would have made America great again. Oh . . . yeah that's not Cruz's motto, that's Trump's.

So here we are. Trump is the presumptive candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for Leader of the Free World.  Donald Trump - A man with an ego so large that he had his own reality show where he got to "fire" big-time celebrities each week in front of the entire country. I never really liked that show.  Donald Trump - Who for all practical purposes I always thought was a Democrat. Donald Trump - The man who has lost more cash in investment schemes than 99% of Americans have ever owned.  Donald Trump . . . really?

The answer to that is "yes" - really.  Barring any overt shenanigans by the elite class of the Republican Party at the convention, he's our man.  At least he is the man that conservative idol worshipers want.  He's the man that, what I've always called "fringe white voters", are all about. (These people were also Ross Perot and Ron Paul worshipers). And he's the man who used over-the-top defamatory and slanderous rhetoric throughout the primary debates to get to where he is today.

But, there is another voting group in the mix of Trump supporters.  These are people that I respect and admire.  People like one of my best friends that, on nearly all political discussions we've ever had, we agreed down the line.  People like conservative talking-heads that helped me through the years to form my own political dogma. And politicians that I actually admire for their principled stances on serious matters.  So . . .what's up with that?  What am I missing?

I've been pushing myself to understand this paradox in order to see if I can relate enough to the possibility of Donald Trump being the Leader of the Free World.  Here is where I am so far.

- The fact that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee is a Yuuge factor.

- Trump appears to be malleable.  Meaning, if his advisers say he's wrong, he will adapt.

- He has always been one who does what he says he'll do. Not just promises, but facts.

- He's not long on holding grudges. He gets pissed off and then makes up. (except for Rosie).

- He is willing to appoint the brightest and the best rather than his cronies.

- I really believe he will immediately address the abhorrent veteran's debacle.

- Although he's not a Fair Tax guy. Any overhaul of the IRS is a positive step.

- His immigration reform promises are spot on.

- No country has ever had to face a man like Trump at the negotiating table.

- He is the most outside outsider ever running for POTUS.

So yes, I'll vote for him.  My "Never Trump" friends on my Twitter page should maybe back off a bit and evaluate the alternatives if their movement succeeds and we have them to thank when Hillary Clinton takes the Oath of Office next January.

THE NEW AMERICAN IDOL

I wanted to switch my Major in college from Business to Psychology in my sophomore year.  That was overturned by my parents.  I always felt like I had a certain sense about sociocentrisities. You are right. That's not a word. It should be. To me, it means psychological tendencies by a certain group of people. That is the underlying basis of this blog today.

I think we can all agree that certain groups of humans have an innate tendency to follow a person or persons according to their beliefs.  And we also have seen that type of following get so strong that nearly nothing can shake those humans from their idolatry or blind admiration. Love, security, comfort, several natural emotions can easily lead to the creation of an idol. Idolatry can range from innocuous emotions toward an actor all the way to drinking Jim Jones' cool-aid. It's the cool-aid that I'm worried about.

I was not a regular follower of American Idol but I pretty much got the idea.  Find one person that was so talented as a singer that they would become an "idol" to a vast population of Americans.  It was such an excellent idea that it smashed all records for a successful TV show.  What most of us don't realize or consider very much is that there is another "American Idol" contest put on every four years in our country; the presidential elections. It has been a true reality show for over 200 years. However. with the onset of TV and now the onslaught of our social media world, I fear that the whole idolatry issue as it pertains to a selection for a president is running amok.

Here's a shocker for those who know me.  I actually worked on Jimmy Carter's campaign for president.  Now, pick yourself up off the floor because there is more to the story. I worked in a recording studio and we did his campaign voice overs. However, I actually got roped into helping stuff envelopes one day.  The experience introduced me to my first reality with idol worship.  Those people who were active in his campaign spoke of Carter as if he were the second coming of Jesus Christ.  It was only a week or so before I divorced myself from that job.

Some of you may remember that at Carter's nomination speech he got up to the podium and said "My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for President of the United States". That was brilliant. He immediately created an idol worship that more than doubled after that and he won the election.

Ronald Reagan had his idols going all the way back to his movies from the 40's and  50's.  Bill Clinton lied about sex in the White House, lied under oath and was disbarred in Arkansas.  But his idols stuck with him . Barack Obama had nearly no credentials to run for president.  But, he's black, he has a nearly perfect speech delivery and um . . .did I mention, he's black?

So, now that brings us to today.  Hillary certainly has her idols.  It has often been said that if she were convicted of murder, she would still get a strong showing in the polls.  But my point of all this is the amazing Donald Trump enigma.  Everyone asks, "How can he be so far ahead in the polls?"  Idolatry. It's clearly a national trend towards someone who is not the dirty word - a politician!  It is certainly understandable but I fear it is neither rational nor logical; according to Mr. Spock.

We all need to get a grip, step back a few paces and consider that maybe, just maybe, this is idol worship and not necessarily what's best for the country. Idol worship got us Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  Let's listen to the other candidates too in the upcoming debates and turn down any offers of a nice sugary cup of cherry cool-aid.

A LONG TIME COMING

In an earlier post I mentioned that, while in college, I became more aware of political issues and even signed up for a minor in Political Science.  My parents were Republicans.  I found myself, for the most part, agreeing with their outlook on politics as I was growing up.  But, as most college age kids do, I began getting more curious about my world and whether there was only one correct side to every issue.  As a freshman in the late sixties, I began to venture out of my safe zone and spend many evenings attending rallies.  I wasn't choosy. If there was an issue to be discussed, I wanted to go and see what it was all about. On one of those ventures, I went to see Paul Newman stand up in the back of a convertable and proclaim that "What we have here is a failure to communicate".  I also had a brush with history after watching Bobby Kennedy give a campaign speech and, waiting to shake his hand, the crowd was shocked to find out that Martin Luther King was just shot in Memphis. I actually heard the news at the same moment Kennedy did.

I mention all this to explain the context of why I decided to go to a rally for something I had never heard of until I read it in our college newspaper.  It was a new group called Students For a Democratic Society. The name conjured up thoughts of people like myself who were  becoming more driven toward getting involved in helping to make things better in our country. So off I went to the rally.

The gathering was in a lecture hall that probably seated about 100 students. There were only about 30 of us which I liked because I thought I might be able to get more involved in the discussion. Two men and a woman, all looking to be in their 30's and very well dressed, were milling around talking to some students before they began the meeting. I nosed my way down to the front to listen in. They seemed very intelligent, poised and professional.  That was unusual.  Most of the anti-war rallies were tie-dye and cut-off style gatherings. So when it was time to listen, I was all ears.

They handed out their literature first.  It was a lot of info so I put it aside.  I cannot remember the people's names but I do remember they were from Chicago. I admit I was full of anticipation to hear what they had to say.  But the whole set-up seemed a little creepy.

They began by explaining that they were well aware that "we", todays college students, were fed up with our current form of government but that we were going about trying to change things in all the wrong ways. OK - that sounded reasonable. So, this is what their plan was. (now please understand that I could have never remembered precisely what they said that night nor do I still have their hand-outs. However, through the miracle of Google, I have re-established myself with their talking points in order to share a few with you.) In fact, it's been over 45 years since I attended this rally and, while reading about them again, it still gives me chills.

They began by harping on the idiocy of the federal government and the careless way that our old "rulers" were too authoritarian and must be stopped.  They continually repeated that our Constitution was out-dated and it was time to fundamentally change America.

Here are a few steps explaining how this change would be accomplished:

 - In the beginning, do not force anything on the people.  Slowly get them to think that the changes being made are a normal part of the evolution of society and for the better in the long run.

- Take as much power as possible away from the state and local governments.  There shall be one, central government that will regulate all human activity.

- Discredit you enemies.  Attack them through irrelevant arguments.

- Break down the civility of our system of government.

- The ends justify the means. Break all of the Ten Commandments if need be to exact control on the enemies of the "New State".

. . . and so on.

Well, that was it for me. I remember walking back to my dorm with a guy I had met at the rally. We were both joking about how ridiculous those people were. Did they actually think they were going to find anyone who would go along with that nonsense?  He told me that night that they were Communists.  I didn't tell him then but I was pretty sure he didn't know what he was talking about.

The SDS  faded away over the next few years but the concept took root and continued to fester.  We are now facing a point in time where those rules (Rules For Radicals) have nearly all been adopted in one form or another by the executive branch of the federal government and radical politicians throughout the country.

This time, I have no suggestions, no attempt at words of wisdom or even a catchy closing phrase.  I only have this short story about my little brush with an event in history that started a sad chapter in our wonderful country when a sickness infested our political psyche and has now nearly killed the patient.

UNIVERSAL APPRECIATION

This was in one of my first essays but came up missing. Curious. So this is a reprise.

I grew up in a perfectly sized, mid-western town. It was called a city but I thought of it as a town. No one was ever certain if there were 40 or 50 thousand people in the town but it never seemed to matter.  It was a good town. I say was because I have not lived there for over 30 years and I know things change. There are two rivers running through the heart of the town. One of them was perfect for swimming and boating. I was fortunate that my family’s home was located on the banks of that river and I took full advantage of it.

Due to the very nature of my surroundings; the beauty of the spring flowers along the river, the amazing array of fish we could catch nearly year ‘round, the adorable teenage girls that would sunbathe on the piers in the summer months, often gave me pause to think. What’s this all about? As a young teen I pretty much understood why I appreciated the sunbathers. But, why do I appreciate tulips? My dog couldn’t care less about the delicate beauty of a tulip. The ability to perceive of and appreciate so much of our world, our universe, is purely human. But why? Why us? Why us God?

My childhood and church going was a constant battle of wills. Go fishing? Go to church. Go fishing? Go to church. Go fishing. My parents were Presbyterians. I was a Communicant’s Class dropout. By the time I hit high school age, the act of attending church was far from my mind. Did I believe in God? Honestly, I don’t remember. When I went on to college though, and realized that I know everything, I began to think back on my early years as a kid asking why. But I added another query into the mix. Where? Where is God?  Not who or what, but where. So I set out in my mind to answer the question. I knew I could find the answer because college-age students are the smartest people in the world. After very little biblical or philosophical research, I had it. God is everywhere! Oh, I know, you hear that all the time. But this was different.

God is everywhere because he is us.  Yup. It was us who wrote the Bible, right? It is the collective minds of mankind that conceive of religions and develop them into something that is supposed to help teach us right from wrong. So instead of saying that God is everywhere in our lives helping us get through the tough times, why can’t we just accept that he is us? You and me and your jerky neighbor who just painted his house mauve; we are God. So when we pray, are we praying to some bearded fellow sitting on a throne beyond the universe? Or are we simply helping to put our hopes and wishes into our minds to direct us to some positive end? It seems okay to presume so, if we know that our own minds are a fractional piece of God’s mind. There, problem solved. I figured it out when I was in college. . . . . . . . Then I graduated.

College smugness seems to quickly disappear when a person goes out into the real world. Like most of my friends, marriage and family happened to me over the next 20 or so years. Before my daughter was born, I really didn’t take much time for spirituality and the old questions that I so easily answered years back. But then something happened to me that changed everything.

On the day of the birth of my daughter, the center of my universe shifted. It shifted from me to her. I realized that day that if someone said that I must die so that this little bundle may live . . . no problem. With the universe no longer about me, I began to ask questions again. But this time I had lots of questions. I read books; Cosmology and Philosophy books. Maybe I should call them “scientific theory” and “thought theory” books. I was impressed that so many of the truly brainy scientists had such strong faiths. God seemed to always be an integral part of their scientific psyche. I have often been disheartened to witness the fact that organized, mostly Christian, religions tend to denounce scientific theory and discovery while scientists seem to embrace religion and God. Can’t we all just get along?

After my divorce and my daughter reaching her late teens, my universe shifted once again. This time it began to center around God. As I read more Big Bang Theory and  Black Hole Theory and as our telescopes reached further back in time to the very  beginning of the universe, I began to realize that I never had the answers. I wasn't even close. But it didn't matter much. Now I wasn't only perceiving of and appreciating that tulip on the riverbank, I was becoming completely rapt in the total package. I remember a line from Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town” in which a lovesick Emily Webb blurts out “Oh World, You’re too wonderful for anyone to realize you.” Profound? Yes. True? Also yes. I’ll never know all the answers. But, perceiving of and appreciating as much of our universe as possible, is to me, a noble quest. It is my humble opinion that God cracks a little smile as we continue to inch closer to the answers.

Many of the greatest minds today are churning up scientific evidence that lends itself perfectly to the possibility that the gap between science and theology is rapidly closing.  Cosmology is the study of the physical universe from the very big to the very small. String Theory is a result of cosmologists, through mathematical models, coming up with really difficult stuff to understand that tends to reveal the possibility that God is among us. The really brainy people working on this are pretty convinced that there are many more dimensions than just three in our world. The reason we cannot see into these other dimensions is because all matter and light are stuck in only three dimensions. Some cosmologists have concluded that there are as many as 11 dimensions.

OK . . . work with me on this. If we can accept that our universe around us has a lot of stuff going on that we cannot see or perceive of, does it not make sense to presume then that God could have a very comfortable spot to hang out in like maybe the eighth dimension, eating popcorn and watching us create all sorts of entertaining quandaries for his, and our amusement? Then, when we really screw up, he can project through those dimensions and touch our lives in ways that we cannot feel in our limited world but we just know He had something to do with fixing the problem.

No matter how many dimensions there are, the three we've got have lent themselves pretty well to giving me the ability to appreciate the universe. To remember springtime, sitting on that riverbank watching the meandering water flow by while perfectly formed teenage girls seem to tan right before my eyes stretched out on the docks and tulips open themselves to an amazingly blue sky. That was my universe. It still is. Thank you God.

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Uniquely Us

Most of my friends know that I tend to look up every evening after dark as I walk outside or step out of a car.  I just feel that, since we are the only living creatures on earth that can perceive of and appreciate the wonder and beauty of our surroundings, we should take full advantage of it every chance we have.

Astronomers, cosmologists, even pseudo philosophers go out of their way to remind us that we used to think we were unique in the universe. But now that we can look all the way back to just a few billion years before the beginning, (I don’t like to call it “The Big Bang” ‘cause there probably was no bang) we see billions upon billions of galaxies and trillions upon trillions of stars and we realize that we are nothing special. They are certain that there are other intelligent beings scattered throughout the cosmos. I do too. In fact, I have no doubt that we are being visited by entities other than ourselves all the time. But I tend to bristle just a bit when these learned intellectuals continually try to remind us that WE are not special in the universe.

I can’t imagine how much more special we could be!  In fact, since we are talking big numbers, billions of things had to occur in order for us to exist at all.  Then, for US to have developed into a walking, talking, intelligent entity in our own right, certainly gives us the undeniable justification to announce that “We Are Unique!” and “We Are Special!”  Our human brain is the most complex, sophisticated biological organ in at least 25,689,593,615,256 miles. (I rounded to the nearest mile). That’s pretty special is it not?

Our universe is special too. Did you know that if the rate of expansion of the universe had been 1 millionth of a degree slower, it would have imploded upon itself and . . . OK - you know the rest.

To take this specialness to the next level, we are not just special because we live “on” the earth, but because we participate “with” the earth.  We, and every living plant and animal are an integral part of the earth’s formation and its beauty and the special, wonderful balance that makes it all work.

I’ve never seen a UFO.  But when I do, I’ll feel pretty smug knowing they are looking at us with awe and reverence because we are a very special part of our wonderful universe.

But, as usual . . . I’m just sayin’

DOING MY PART

I will begin this by saying, I don't know what I'm talking about. That is to say, I can't be certain of anything regarding global warming or the new disaster, climate change. But it seems I'm in good company. Apparently, nobody knows. In any point/counterpoint debate, both sides make excellent arguments. I have been watching the new Cosmos series regularly and did not miss last week's thorough discussion about how the earth is going to evaporate if we don't stop mowing our lawns. OK . . .that wasn't in there. But that is how I felt. I am practically single handedly at fault for what will soon be a rise in the oceans so devastatingly bad that the Daytona 500 will soon be a boat race.

So here's my problem. To this point, it still appears that either side could be right. Knowing that however, naturally leads to the argument that if the world is warming up, humans must drastically change their lives to keep it from happening. “We just can't take the chance that we are wrong”, they say. I understand that too. What has me a bit skeptical about this entire issue is the fact that the topic's point and counterpoint fall strictly down political lines. Liberals urge the need to control human behavior and conservatives say, “Not so fast”.

In the late 1990's I attended a talk by Mikhail Gorbachev at the University of Georgia that disturbed me just a bit. Throughout his career, he was pretty good at disturbing people. He discussed the fact that he had founded an organization called Green Cross International in 1993, just 2 years after the fall of the U.S.S.R. He eluded to the idea that GCI's purpose was to infiltrate environmentalist organizations and, with the right propaganda and phony climate fraud, environmentalists would be easy targets as unwitting minions. He said that with an issue like Global Warming, the only way it could be solved, if it even could, assuming it were real, would be by a global government dictating and rationing the worlds resources. Being somewhat amazed by what I heard, I though maybe the translator was mixing up words and that Gorbachev hadn't said it exactly that way. But as time went on, that is exactly how it played out. The “Green Movement” became a liberal base from which governments could control human behavior. And Mikhail Gorbachev was one of their leaders.

Jumping up to today, most of how it all got started has been replaced by a general acceptance that Grandma is a scumbag if she doesn't get rid of her Cadillac Escalade and buy a Smart Car.

So, I'll end this where I began. I don't know. It does seem though, that there is a rush to judgment that is driven by political motives rather than humanistic concerns. Maybe a political compromise should be considered. Here is mine. Someone please tell Barack Obama that if he would OK the Keystone XL Pipeline Project, I'll stop mowing the lawn.  

IT'S A MATTER OF BALANCE

Ever since apes were artificially inseminated by ancient aliens and modern humans got brains, there has been a proliferation of new weapons to claim territory or just kick ass for no good reason. So our ancestors all had to take sides. Usually there was a good side where those humans wanted to live in peaceful coexistence and a rather bad side where those humans just wanted to kill other humans for whatever reason. From that point forward, weapons were introduced to keep the peace or break the peace.

So enough of the history lesson. You get the point.  Rocks, sharp rocks, knives, bow and arrows, flint-locks, revolvers, semi-automatics and automatics; someone was always coming up with something that turned the balance of power on to their side until someone else topped that and the balance would go the other way. As long as there are good guys and bad guys, it will always be that way.  It is a balance that has kept bad guys in check for, well, forever. If you take it further to nuclear weapons, at least to this point, we are not speaking Japanese or German because the good guys got the bomb first.  This is a logic that I would dare say a 5th grader can easily understand. Balance of power.

OK - Now, here is the problem. We now have a very large group of humans in our country and throughout the world who simply don’t think that maintaining that balance really makes a difference in the scheme of things. They simply do not like guns and they especially do not like humans to have guns.  So they want to deprive all humans except their governments from having guns. Now, of course, 5th grade logic will tell you that it is only possible to take away guns from one side of the good guy/bad guy equation.  Problem is, it’s the good guy side. “No matter”, they say. Take their guns anyway.  Well . . . where’s the balance in that?  Without the balance, the power shifts entirely onto the bad side and those humans who were keeping the peaceful coexistence as peaceful as possible, are rendered impotent.  I’m sure you get my drift.  This is what we call Liberal Logic.  

Consider though, the fact that a balance has always been obtained after, of course, many humans died and one side or the other accomplished the shift back in their favor.  I have no doubt that we will see that here in America again.  Gun-grabbing will not be a healthy thing for Liberals to do over the next few years.  We already see gun sales at an all-time high.  Many shooting ranges boast more woman signing up for lessons than men.  In other words, the ill-fated logic of taking away guns from law-abiding citizens has created a nation growing in unprecedented gun ownership.

And there you have it.  The natural balance of power shifting once again.  No doubt there will soon come a time when you will not hear much from the gun-grabbers because they will have become the impotent ones.  

God Bless America!

CHANCES ARE

There is so much bad press from the mainstream media, liberal mudslingers and even old-time conservatives about the Tea Party that I began to wonder.  What would happen, based on their core beliefs, if a Tea Party candidate were sworn in January 2009 instead of  . . . well, you know.

If a Tea Party Conservative were elected President in 2008 and he had a cooperative Congress, chances are this is where we would be today:

There would be no Edward Snowden spilling espionage secrets to our enemies because there would be no invasion of privacy of innocent Americans.

Our boarders would be shut tight and any illegal aliens would be treated fairly but legally in decisions whether they must return to their own country or not.

Gun ownership would be considered a sacred honor and a Constitutional right and there would be no need for the government to fear its own citizens.

The enormous size of our federal government would be drastically reduced.

Personal income taxes along with all other taxes would be slashed.

Deficit spending would end.

Our military would be fundamentally strengthened to deter and deny any emboldened countries and religious terrorists from attacking us at home or abroad.

All government agencies from Federal down to Local would be put on notice that any voting irregularities will be met with swift investigations and prosecutions.

The Constitution of the United States would be followed to the letter as interpreted only by the Judicial Branch of the United States Government.

Private health insurance would be available to everyone at greatly lowered premiums and to those who still cannot afford it, through the use of private pools.  Premiums would drop like a rock due to the lifting of government regulations and tort reform.                             

Corporations would have the freedoms they are afforded in the Rule of Law and would not be bullied by the federal government to adhere to vote-garnering demands and undue taxation. Also, when those undue corporate taxes drop, the cost of goods and services would drop significantly right along with it.

A fair and equitable income tax would be in place that does not favor one political group over another.

The IRS and other Federal Agencies would NEVER have the ability or the directive from the Executive Branch to illegally punish Americans by denying tax exemptions set forth by our laws.

NO American, whether a government worker or regular citizen would ever be left behind to die in a foreign land without all possible efforts to save them being deployed.

These are the things I can think of that are pretty much “no-brainers” but I’m sure there’s more.  If you think of one put it in the comments below.

Now, I know what some will say. “How do you know that is what would happened if a Tea Party candidate had won the election?” After pondering on that for at least 2.5 seconds, I have an answer, “I Don’t!!”  I merely said “Chances Are”.  Even if only 50% of those things happened in the past 6 years, what a better country this would be.

. . . and as you well know by now,  I’m Just Sayin’

THE PALM SUNDAY TORNADOES

Today marks the 49^th anniversary since, what became known as the Palm Sunday Tornadoes, occurred in my home town.  I rarely talk about this but my local hometown newspaper has asked that people who experienced the tornadoes share some memories. The following is my account of that day.

It was a beautifully warm day.  I had dared to put on shorts that early in spring in Northern Indiana.  I was still outside late in the afternoon playing some basketball with friends as we did nearly every chance we had from the time we could walk.  I was sixteen, happy, carefree and ready for whatever life had to offer.

Our neighbor came to the fence and told us to go inside because he saw on TV that strong storms were on the way.  It seemed odd since there was not a cloud in the sky.  But, we all went our separate ways to go home and watch TV.  My dad and I had just settled down on the couch to check the weather when, once again, our neighbor came over.  He was out of breath and seemed oddly excited.  He had just heard on his police radio that a tornado had gone through a section of town just south of the city.  He said they needed station wagons to help transport people to the hospital.  I know how odd that sounds but that was a different time.

We had a large station wagon and my dad and I were ready to go.  Looking back, I know for sure that we never considered the drama we were so ready to involve ourselves in.  He wanted me to drive.  I was surprised since I had only gotten my license six months before.  But off we went.  We drove East and then South toward the area we thought would take us close. But about halfway there the weather turned into an angry, raging torrent. It was pitch black with frighteningly loud rain.  I could see nothing so I pulled off on the side of the road and waited.  Shortly, it became eerily calm.  We assumed it was just another storm.  So off we went to see if we could locate where that tornado came through.  As we drove a little further, we came up on an area of unspeakable devastation.  There were no ambulances, no police cars and no fire trucks.  Nothing.  Only silence.  I pulled off the road and glanced up a slowly rising hill to view nothing but wood planks everywhere.  Dad jumped out of the car and ran over to a man he saw sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around a telephone pole.  I walked over to him too and he was gasping for air.  We realized that he was so covered in mud that his skin could not breathe.  We brushed heaps of wet muck off him.  That seemed to help.  I could hear some faint voices up the hill.  They were calls for help and children crying. That’s when I realized that we were the first people to arrive in the area.  I told dad that there must have been a second tornado because this had just happened.  Emergency vehicles began arriving and dad stayed with the man we had helped when they took him to an ambulance.  I was asked by a young fireman to help him search for victims.  We searched house-to-house which were nothing but rubble.  We were looking, listening and pulling out people from their hiding places. Suffice to say, the next couple of hours were terrifying, gratifying and life altering for me.  I would climb down into basements open to the sky but so strewn with lumber and furniture that you would never think anyone could be down there . . . and alive.  But they were.  Most of my time walking up the street with the fireman, climbing over the rubble and training flashlights through the slightest cracks were fruitless ventures.  But then we would find someone.  Tears would well up in our eyes as we screamed for emergency people and threw lumber out of the way.  

My dad found me later sitting on a stump, no longer able to help.  My brain just shut down.  I couldn't look for or look at any more people, dead or alive. We put our arms around each other and walked slowly back to the car. We just got in our car and drove home in a peaceful quietness that we both needed badly.

As it turned out, we had driven up on the secondary access road to what is called The Sunnyside Edition. A massive “double” category 4 tornado had passed directly over that
area.  Apparently when I had to pull off the road and wait for the storm, the big one hit.  So, all-in-all, the same general area of my hometown was hit by four tornadoes that night.  I would guess we arrived no more than 5 minutes after it had passed. 

So . . .that’s it.  For a few days after, I had trouble sleeping.  But as a teenager, I was pretty resilient. However, I carry many visions with me of that night that are mine and mine alone.  The stories that came out of the Palm Sunday Tornadoes have been told through the years in my hometown.  Now you know my story. 

This famous picture shows the two tornadoes forming out of one massive cloud.  

This is an aerial view of the Sunnyside Subdivision where I was involved in search and rescue. 

This is typical of what they found when the sun came up the next morning.

Here is a link to information on The Palm Sunday Tornadoes: http://www.elkharttruth.com/living/Community-Blogs/Elkhart-County-History/2014/04/11/This-Day-In-History-The-Palm-Sunday-Tornadoes.html