"We Will Retaliate Against Russia," or "US Hypocrisy Rides Again!"

The United States government, from the President to Senator McCain, are at it again...that is continuing the United States government's long history of hypocrisy.  In this case it is condemning Russia and President Putin for interfering with the United States presidential election this year.  As the old expression says, "Well!  If THAT is not the Pot calling the Kettle BLACK!"

A little reading of American History will readily provide nearly innumerable instances where the US government, Democrat, Republican, Whig, Bull Moose, or whatever party might have been in charge, has "influenced" elections in nearly innumerable nations from Argentina to Zimbabwe.  This interference has been going since the early days of our Republic.  We can look back to the French Revolution for example, and to American intrigues in Mexico prior to 1836.

More recently, the United States exercised influence on Chinese politics and elections starting in 1949.  Then we can think of other nations in the decade following, including Cuba and Albania.  In the Fifties the US helped "elect" the first Shah of Iran.  During the same time the US took over France's "meddling" in Viet Nam.  In the Sixties and Seventies it was extremely difficult to name a nation in Central or South America, and Africa, not to mention Cuba, in which the United States helped "elect" or outright INSTALL corrupt and vicious dictators and strongmen, very often leading to the murder or imprisonment of millions of people.

In the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties the United States continued its policy of influencing politics in other lands, even up to assassinating candidates who were deemed less than friendly to US government and corporate interests.  How can we forget the constant US interference in the Baltics after the breakup of the Soviet Union?  And such activities continued through Bill Clinton's presidency.  I guess Hillary forgot about that, as did Senator McCain.

Now President Obama is threatening retaliation on Russia for its as yet UNPROVEN "hacking" into the 2016 Presidential Election.  Retaliation?  Really.  Usually we would want a tangible fact that could prove the "charge" before we would retaliate.  President Putin of Russia is not being unreasonable in asking for proof of Russian "meddling."  And what about retaliation.  Are we going to go to the "brink" again over as yet unfounded allegations?  Would the retaliation be "economic sanctions" or something more lethal?

Leaving that question for another post, let's ask another question.  With all the evidence now available regarding US interference, including assassinations, what if all the nations concerned decided it was now time to retaliate against US?  Senator McCain is calling for Congressional hearings into "Russian Hacking" of US elections.  Why does he not also call for a Congressional resolution admitting US interference in the various foreign elections and making reparations for that interference?  Well, I know, that is not going to happen.  But wouldn't it be our duty to do this before "retaliating" against Russia (bear in mind the average person in Russia had nothing to do with any real or imagined governmental interference with American elections)?

Whether or not Russia interfered with US elections, and whether or not our leaders choose to "retaliate" against Russia, I think we should acknowledge the great hypocrisy going on in the American news media right now, as orchestrated by our President, by Hillary Clinton, by John McCain, and by many other politicians.  How ridiculous it is to hear those mentioned above crowing about Russia's political interference while over-looking our own nation's much more expansive and still continuing influence-mongering that has earned the United States so much bad will over the past century and a half.  Once again, I urge you, don't just read this blog.  Do some research for yourself.  But if you are my age, you really don't have to do a lot of research, as you lived through much of it yourself.

I hope that our leaders will one day resolve to let other nations choose their own destinies, whether they "align" with US goals or not.  We want our elections to be free and without outside influence.  The other nations of the world ask for, and deserve, nothing less than this as well.

May God Bless America.

A True Story From This Blogger's Life

The following is a true story:

After work Wednesday, I told my Lovely Bride that I had bought a treadmill online, and it was at W....T ready to be picked up.  I then asked Child A if he would go with me and help load the boxed treadmill into the pickup.

Said my Lovely Bride, "I thought we decided that you would only buy a treadmill after you walked at least once daily for the next three months!!"

I said," It is thirty-seven DEGREES outside tonight, and now winter has started.  There is no way I can walk every night when it is thirty-seven degrees outside!  I can put the treadmill in the shed and work out every night, even when it is cold."

My Lovely Bride said, "HONEY!"

I said, "Sweetie, this was a LIFE DECISION!  You KNOW I have to lose weight, be more active, and ..." so forth and so on, you know the rest if you are male, over fifty, and have not walked over a mile in one sitting since Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry as the head coach of America's football team. 

And THEY WERE America's football team in those days!  Of course that information was irrelevant to the present argument in which my Lovely Bride and I were engaged.

My Lovely Bride said, "OK, Fine!" (Men EVERYWHERE - ATTENTION!! - if your Lovely Bride utters those two words, be warned - NOTHING is either OK or FINE!)

Then my Lovely Bride said, "I bet you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS you will NOT work out on that treadmill at LEAST once a day for the next three months!"

Said I, "You'll see.  I WILL work out every night.  I HAVE to lose weight and be more active!" (I think I said that above - oh, well.)  In three months, when you pay me the $100, I will have one third of the cost of a GOOD metal detector!"

My Lovely Bride says," OK, let's make this a REAL contest.  I will BUY you a new metal detector if you really work out EVERY DAY for the next three months!"

"Okay," I said, "but I am not talking about a $59 Radio Shack metal detector!  I am talking about a GOOD metal detector! I will PICK OUT the metal detector I want!"

My Lovely Bride said, "FINE!" (Uh oh, guys, there's THAT word again!) "You pick out the metal detector you want, and I will think of something I want of EQUAL value!  I will get something NICE!"

I said, "YOU are going to LOSE YOUR PANTS in this bet!"

"Oh," said my Lovely Bride, "You're CHANGING the bet now?!"

"No I am not changing the bet." I said.  "I was speaking figuratively.  You are going to lose this bet!"

Just about this time Child A, having heard our little discussion, interjected, "Dad? Why buy a treadmill?  I have a recumbent exercise bike stored in my room."

My Lovely Bride and I were stopped in our verbal "tracks"! 

I said to Child A, "You have an exercise bike stored in your ROOM?!!"

My Lovely Bride said, "What? Somewhere in all that stuff in your room you have a BICYCLE?!"


Here I should tell you that neither my Lovely Bride nor myself DARE ENTER Child A's room.  He has been able to cram at least four rooms worth of furniture, storage boxes, and computer equipment into an 18' x 10' bed room.  That leaves very little floor space for walking, and also means that there are many booby-trapped items throughout the room.  My Lovely Bride and I make it a practice not to enter his room without the proper personal protective equipment and a long rope tied to the living room couch so that we can find our way back to this world if we DO have to enter his room.

And now, back to our story -

Child A said, "Well, not a bike.  It is a recumbent exercise bike.  I am giving it to Dad.  Hey Dad, you should cancel that order!"

I said, "You're right!  Hey wait...does your recumbent bike WORK? Does it have all the parts?"

Child A said, "Yes, Dad, it works, and it has all the parts."

I said, "OK, I guess I will cancel that order for the treadmill."

My Lovely Bride was about a paragraph behind our discussion, however. "You have a BICYCLE in your ROOM?! I can't believe you had ROOM for one in there!"

Child A said, "Not a BIKE.  A recumbent exercise bike.  The only thing wrong with it is that it is missing the handle.  And I took the console off."

I was immediately wary.  "Uh...why did you take the console off?"  My Lovely Bride was all ears as well.

Said Child A, " I wanted to make a "desk exercise bike."

I HAD to hear this one.  My Lovely Bride was faster, though. "WHAT is a DESK exercise bike?"

Child A said, "I wanted to have a machine I could exercise on while I was playing video games.  But when I put it under the desk and tried to pedal, my knees kept hitting the bottom of the desk."

My Lovely Bride said, "You have not been using the exercise bike?"

Child A said, "No, I told you, I kept banging my knees on the desk the first time I tried to use it, so I just stored it in my room."

I asked Child A if he could successfully reconstruct the recumbent exercise bike, but I could see that my Lovely Bride was not interested...because she was too busy rolling on the floor in laughter. 

When my Lovely Bride finally regained control of herself, she told Child A, "Thanks for making my point!  Like your father, if there is a reason NOT to exercise, you won't!"

I said, "That is not true!  I would exercise EVERY DAY if I had an indoor machine, such as this recumbent exercise bike.  Then if it is snowing or raining, I can just go to the shed and exercise there!"

My Lovely Bride said, "Then the SAME DEAL is still ON!  You have to work out EVERY DAY for AT LEAST thirty minutes for the next THREE MONTHS!" 

I said, "That's right...the SAME DEAL! I am going to get a really GOOD metal detector out of this!"

My Lovely Bride only snickered as she walked over to the kitchen stove and began serving up some of her prize-winning beef and vegetable soup.  And...I am sure...she began calculating the cost of a mink coat or a new diamond ring. 

As for me...I would be thinking about a REALLY NICE metal detector...if I could just get up off the floor where I fell into a boneless mass after riding thirty minutes on my new RECUMBENT exercise bike.

End of Part I

Stayed tuned right here for Part II...which follows in only THREE MONTHS.  I can't wait to show off my great new physique...and my shiny, new metal detector!

Native Americans 1 - Big Oil 0 or The Permit Denied

In a shocking decision, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would deny a permit requested by Energy Transfer Partners to build a segment of pipeline under the Missouri River in North Dakota.  Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other Native Americans, and hundreds of other "protesters" are elated, at least temporarily.

I call this decision shocking because normally Big Oil, Big Nuclear Energy, or Big whatever wins these kind of things hands down.  For example, no matter how loud the protest, no matter how damning the scientific evidence, Big (Nuclear) Business prevailed in Andrews County, West Texas, when the late billionaire Howard Simmons ramrodded a nuclear waste storage facility down the collective throat of most of Texas.  State scientists found that the location of this facility was questionable and that it was quite likely that radioactive wastes would leak into the local aquifer.  But the project went ahead as scheduled.

In contrast, the Army Corps of Engineers has defied Big Oil, at least for the moment, and ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux. This ruling is shocking in another aspect as well.  The United States has a well-documented history of ignoring the treaties made with the various Native American tribes, starting all the way back in the years following the American Revolution.  If one takes the time to do even rudimentary research on this subject, one finds that easily over two hundred-fifty treaties have been signed and later ignored by the US government, by "settlers," or by Big Business of one kind or another.  So it is a great surprise to me that the US Army of Engineers has come to the aid of the Sioux in this case.

What about the company called Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the builders of the pipeline?  This (unfortunately) Texas-based partnership wanted to save a few (million) bucks by running a segment of the Dakota Access Pipeline UNDER the Missouri River.  Not only that, but ETP is in the process of destroying Native American territory in order to access Lake Oahe, the point on the Missouri where ETP wants to bury the pipeline under the river.  The Sioux are actually looking out for all Americans in their opposition of this pipeline.  Can you imagine the catastrophe that WILL happen (not MIGHT) when the Dakota Access Pipeline either begins to leak or suffers a major break?  Let me state the obvious.  What will happen is that the drinking water for everyone downstream from Lake Oahe will be contaminated when the break happens.  And never mind the other catastrophe the Sioux were facing, the further and continued violation of their sovereign land in the interest of Big Oil.

The Standing Rock Sioux have won a small victory today, but there is still a war to win.  I have been so proud of the American people (at least many of them) who have supported the Sioux in this latest attempt to deprive them of the sovereignty to their land.  Many Americans traveled to North Dakota to stand with the Sioux.  Many others shared their financial and other resources, or just their thoughts and prayers.  This outpouring of support was almost as shocking as the Corps' decision.  I firmly hope that this decision will stand in the long term.  ETP can certainly afford to reroute the pipeline along a less environmentally risky route.  Actually ETP never considered an alternate route, so sure were they that Big Oil would prevail over the rights of a few "Indians" and the health and safety of millions of persons who depend on the Missouri River for water.

I hope that this wisdom continues to prevail, that the pipeline is rerouted...

And may God Bless America.

Today In Texas History - President John F Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas

I was thinking about a topic for the blog today and I realized that today marks fifty-three years since President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas.  I have heard surprisingly little in the media about this most tragic day in Texas History, at least as far as the rest of the nation is concerned.  I wonder if we are in danger of forgetting the great sacrifice John F. Kennedy made for this nation.

Just like those of us who witnessed the events of 9/11/01, Americans who were alive in 1963 can to this very day remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when the news of the President's death was flashed around the world.  I, of course, do not really remember where I was, because on that day I was just over two years old.  But as I grew older, my parents and other adults in my life remembered each year what they were doing and how they felt when they heard the news that day.  I could not experience the feelings and emotions they felt, but I could at least to some degree understand their sadness at the loss of the young President and the loss of the things John F. Kennedy hoped to accomplish.

As the years went by, I learned to read and to think for myself.  I was able to review the information available concerning the events of that day in November back in 1963.  I have to admit that for the first few years that I studied the accounts of the assassination, I accepted without any doubt the "main stream" version, the "Lone Gunman" theory.  As a young student I had no concept that our "Government" could or would lie about anything, particularly about something so serious as the murder of our President.  I particularly remember an editorial cartoon that someone showed me.  This cartoon showed President Lincoln's statue weeping as it sat in the Lincoln Memorial.  Later, I read summaries of the Warren Commission investigation on Kennedy's assassination, and like many at the time, I swallowed the story, as incredible and unlikely as it was.

Today, after years of searching all sorts of sources, including "alternative" sources, I have come to believe, as have many Americans, that the Warren Commission report was merely an attempt to "give closure" (I can't stand that phrase) to the American people and assure them that an "insane" ex-military "gun nut" defeated the all the security measures the United States government could muster.  In other words, the government set out to convince the nation, and the world, that there was no conspiracy to murder President Kennedy.

But more than this, I read and learned about President John F. Kennedy, the World War II hero who became President.  I learned that the longer President Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruschchev of the Soviet Union "faced off" during the Cold War, both of them realized they had something in common.  A couple things, as a matter of fact.  First, both of them wanted their children and grandchildren to live in a peaceful world, at least as much as peace could be possible on this planet.  Second, both of these men realized that neither one of them wanted to "push the button" that would start nuclear war, and would inevitably destroy the world, for all practical purposes.

In the few months between the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy's death, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached an understanding with each other that there was a better way.  An interesting side item was the fact that Kennedy secretly agreed to move OUR missiles out of Turkey, directly on the Russian border, in return for the removal of missiles from Cuba, and the return to the USSR of both the missiles on the Soviet ships and the FULLY FUNCTIONAL missiles in Cuba that were ALREADY AIMED at the United States.  In reality, Khrushchev and/or Fidel Castro could have destroyed the United States at any time during 1962/63 but Khrushchev himself had refused to do so.  A sad truth that I discovered for myself was that had Kennedy been able to complete his term, he and Khrushchev would have actually begun the first steps of bi-lateral disarmament. A second sad truth I learned was that the Military/Industrial complex HAD NO INTENTION of allowing the Cold War to end anytime soon. 

Like many of you, I came to realize that in some ways, Kennedy's presidency paralleled that of Lincoln, one hundred years earlier.  You see, President Lincoln realized that the steps he took toward a peaceful reconciliation of the States would cost him his life. I believe Abraham Lincoln knew he would not leave the White House alive, but he pursued a peaceful, relatively non-punitive reconstruction of the nation anyway.  In the same way, I believe President Kennedy knew he would not leave the White House alive.  He knew that pursuing peace and the eventual reduction and destruction of nuclear arms along with Premier Khrushchev, a plan literally to save the world, would cost him his life.  Kennedy knew that the Military/Industrial Complex had, in only two decades, become such a strong force that the legitimate and elected government of the United States could not rein this monster in.  In the same manner Khrushchev knew that his cooperation with President Kennedy would cost him, at the very least, his role as Premier, and very likely his life as well.

Putting all these fears behind him, President Kennedy pressed on toward peace with the Soviet Union.  And here is where all my investigating led me to depart from the "main stream" theory of the "Lone Gunman."  President Kennedy's cabinet, advisors, military chiefs, and Wall Street banker friends, all knew that Kennedy had made a breakthrough with Khrushchev.  The details had yet to be worked out, but the basic framework was in place.  Kennedy and Khrushchev wanted more than "détente."  What both men wanted was a world free of the threat of global destruction.  With these two men in power, that goal was reachable - an agreement was only months away.  President Kennedy knew the Military/Industrial Complex was dead-set against any strategy that not only would reduce or eliminate nuclear weapons already deployed around the world, but would also destroy the demand for more and "better" nuclear weapons. Further, I believe President Kennedy knew that, though his dream might one day be a reality, he would not live to see that day come.

Documented history shows that Kennedy was warned by several people to post-pone his trip to Dallas that November.  Kennedy himself shared his own misgivings.  But he made the trip just the same.  He would not be deterred, not even by the very Face of Death.  President Kennedy went to Dallas, where he was received by one of the warmest crowds ever.  The President was loved by so many, and even in Texas, where he had not carried the state in the election, the people were happy to see him, happy to just be near this man who truly rolled into the White House on the biggest wave of popularity since, well probably, since the victorious colonists begged General Washington to declare himself "King" of the fledgling nation.

I believe that events had taken shape and that an image was faintly visible to President Kennedy.  I believe that President Kennedy felt he would more than likely not leave Dallas alive.  But John F. Kennedy, unlike some of our more recent presidents, and notwithstanding his family's checkered past, was a true hero.  He was the kind of hero who knew that "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (St. John 15:13)

Today in Texas History, President John F. Kennedy gave his life for his fellow men, and in fact for all people throughout the world.

I, for one, will never forget this man's sacrifice, made when I was so young.  I pray that this nation will never forget President Kennedy, never forget his desire for peace, and especially never forget that he was willing to lay down his life for yours and mine.  Were any presidents since then willing to do the same?

May God Bless America.

End of Watch: Detective Benjamin Marconi, San Antonio Police Department

Earlier this morning Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed in the line of duty as he was conducting a traffic stop right outside the police department.  The detective is the first Texas peace officer to die in an ambush shooting since the five officers were shot by a sniper in Dallas on July 7th.  Several Texas officers have died since then, and I honor them here before I write about Detective Marconi.

July 12 - Officer Marco Zarate of the Bellaire Police Department crashed during a pursuit and died of his injuries.

August 4 - Officer Justin Scherlen, Amarillo Police Department, lost his life in a traffic accident that occurred while he was on duty.

September 4 - Officer Amir Abdul - Khalig, Austin Police Department, was killed when a vehicle struck his motorcycle.

September 7 - Deputy Hubert Maltby, Eastland County Sheriff's Office, died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident while he was on duty.

September 30 - Deputy Eugene Ransom suffered a fatal heart attack while providing first aid to a jail inmate who had also suffered a heart attack.

All of these officers deserve our gratitude for their willingness to serve the people.  My sympathy and prayers to their families and their fellow officers.

Detective Marconi's death was not an accident or a medical event, as with the officers above.  The detective was targeted and the shooter had only one intent, to kill a police officer.

Detective Marconi had made contact with a driver for a traffic violation, and then had returned to his vehicle to write a citation.  So much has changed in the decades since I have been a peace officer.  Among those changes are computers and ticket printers located in the officers' vehicles.  I do not know if the detective had such equipment in his car, but in any case, he had sat down in the driver's seat to complete the citation.

While the officer was occupied with this, and presumably keeping an eye on the driver and/or passengers in the vehicle he had pulled over, a car parked behind the police vehicle.  I cannot second guess what the officer was doing or why he did not see the person approach him, but I have been in this situation many times myself. 

The fact is the officer does not know why another vehicle has stopped, but there are several possibilities.  The vehicle could be following the car the officer stopped, and simply pulled over so as not to lose the other car.  Another possibility, believe it or not, is that a person seeking information or directions saw the officer and decided to stop behind the police car and wait until the officer has finished so that the person can ask questions.  Or the person the person has more sinister motives, as in this case.

San Antonio police at this point are saying they have no information to link the shooter to the person who was stopped by Detective Marconi.  The officer was White and the shooter was Black.  The shooting occurred directly in front of the San Antonio Police Department building, which to me hints at the idea that the shooter was watching from somewhere nearby waiting for a police officer to appear outside the building.  Since today is Sunday, there was likely much less police traffic than usual.  When the shooter was sure that Detective Marconi was occupied he made his move to ambush the officer.  The shooter simply decided to kill the first officer he saw.

No one knows why Detective Marconi did not notice that the person approaching him had a weapon at the ready.  Possibly the officer was distracted by his computer.  In my day, officers simply wrote out a citation while radioing to the dispatcher all information so that the dispatcher ran wanted checks and provided other information to the officer.  The officer had only two tasks, write the citation and keep a sharp eye on the person or persons occupying the vehicle.  And on his surroundings.

Now that we are in the computer age, officers are many times expected to check for criminal information on the person and vehicle themselves, by entering information into their computer console.  Some departments have added computerized printers, so that the officer must also split his attention even further.  Many departments now expect that officers will do very little communication "over the radio," instead, the officers must now do data entry while driving or while trying to watch violators.  I am personally of the opinion that police administrators have inadvertently traded high-tech convenience and efficiency for officer safety.

But whatever happened today, a police officer was murdered, possibly in a racially-motivated scenario.  My prayers go out to the officer's family and to his fellow officers at SAPD.  I also pray that this cowardly shooter is caught soon, and receives the appropriate reward for his deed.

Today Detective Benjamin Marconi was taken from his family and friends, and is now in that Thin Blue Line in Heaven.

May God Bless America

Hillary and Trump - No Real Choice - Election 2016

It was the night before THE Election, and 'cross this great land...

I would have finished this poem except that my feelings about this coming election are most definitely NOT poetic.

For instance, I am disappointed and disgusted that the American political system produced this "any way you look at it you lose" Presidential ballot.  I mean, if we try to ignore all the news about Hillary and all the rumors and naughty photographs of Trump, and just vote based on both of their past "records," then pretty much "any way you look at it, you lose."  Thank you Simon and Garfunkle for that classic line from "Mrs. Robinson."  To further quote the Duo, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

The Democratic candidate, based ONLY on her record as a career politician, is a proven liar.  The Republican candidate is a proven "get to the top BAM" kind of guy.  You know, BAM means "by any means."  Plus, there are decades of news stories and photographs to show that Trump has been an associate of the Clintons for many years.  Is he really so opposed to Hillary?  It is my belief that we will see, as usual, "business as usual" no matter whether Hillary or Donald goes to the White House.

When I think of politics and especially about "Presidential" politics, I can't help but be reminded of President Richard Nixon from way back in the '70s.  Good grief, I was just in junior high way back then.  If you, my dear reader, are too young to remember, or if you skipped out of history class in college to do your laundry, let me refresh your memory.

Richard Nixon won a hotly contested Presidential Election in 1968, overcoming Senator Hubert Humphrey in a close race, electorally speaking.  Flashing forward to 1972, President Nixon was a shoe-in for re-election, and pretty much everyone knew it.  In fact Nixon did win the popular election by one of the largest "landslide" victories in election history.  And he went on to serve his second term, happily ever after...well, almost. 

It turns out that the only person who was not sure of Nixon's inevitable victory was Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon himself.  So, Nixon had his "CREEPs" (the Committee to RE-Elect the President) break into Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C. so that he could learn all about the Democrats' election strategies.  The Democrats had rented a suite at a nice little hotel in D.C. called the Watergate Hotel.  Long story short, the CREEPs were caught by an alert security officer, and...well, the cat was out of the bag, so to speak.  Tricky Dick was busted!

Now pay attention, class, to this part of my post.  President Nixon was NEVER CHARGED with a crime.  The police and the FBI had all the evidence needed, and of course, the news was FULL of this evidence.  What was President Nixon's crime?  Burglary.  More precisely, CONSPIRACY to commit burglary.  That's it. No illegal use of emails (or teletypes back then), no deliberate inaction when Americans were about to get murdered in an American embassy overseas.  No trail of corpses linked to other scandals.  No leaked emails of sex with children or flying to the Bahamas with a registered sex-offender.  No foundation accepting illegal contributions from foreign governments.  Just a rather simple felony, conspiracy to commit burglary.

When Nixon's actions were exposed, the public, and Congress, were outraged, and rightly so.  Nixon tried to ride out the remainder of his second term, but after a blistering Congressional hearing into the Watergate affair, the Senate made up its mind to impeach Nixon.  And it was the right thing to do.  The President was more than likely a felon, and evidence of his actions, if sent to a court, would have resulted in his conviction.  President Nixon, the most popular American President since John F. Kennedy, was now disgraced and dishonored in the public's eye.  But this disgraced man did something that should be an example to all politicians.  With the last sliver of honor left him, President Nixon became the first (and ONLY, so far) President to resign from office, sparing the nation the expense and trauma of impeaching and removing the President from office, something Bill Clinton did not have the guts to do two decades later.

Now, nearly two decades after Bill Clinton left office, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former senator and former Secretary of State, has run up a list of scandals that makes Tricky Dick eligible for the clergy.  The FBI Director, Mr. Comey, ADMITTED on television and in other media that his agency had enough evidence of wrongdoing to INDICT Hillary Clinton, and this for just the email scandal.  Granted, he said he would not allow his agency to CHARGE Hillary (A WHOLE OTHER SCANDAL ITSELF) but he candidly pointed out that "other persons" (you or me, for instance) most definitely WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED if the same evidence were used against such other persons.

So now it is the eve of the most disgusting Presidential Election of this and last century.  Will Hillary do the right thing with the last vestige of honor she could muster, and drop out of the election?  Of course not.  Two reasons for this: One, she does NOT HAVE a last vestige of honor to muster.  Hillary Clinton is the most dishonorable person, bar none, to have ever held a political office in the United States.  Two: If she is EVER charged with a crime, President Obama will no doubt pardon her prior to leaving office.  If she is indicted after taking office, there is no reason to believe she would step down until the trial was over.  But seriously folks, we know that neither the Director of the FBI, nor his boss, the Attorney General, will EVER indict Hillary.

Not only will Hillary Clinton never be forced from, or voluntarily leave, the Presidency, but also nearly fifty percent of registered voters will support her no matter what she does as President, or what she HAS DONE, on the road to the White House.  My gut feeling and my prediction is that she will win this election and, not only that, but she will serve two terms, just as Bill did.  Wouldn't it be great if I were wrong?  The only thing that could cut Hillary's two terms short would be if she keeps poking President Putin and starts World War III.  Don't laugh...we may have been distracted by all the news about Hillary and may have missed the threats she has directed toward Russia, but Mr. Putin has not missed them, I can assure you.

Before I go, I will indulge you quickly with my fantasy, and that is pretty much all it is at this point.  My fantasy is that the FBI Director has simply thrown a smoke screen to Hillary, and at some point between now and January, 2017 Hillary Clinton et al WILL BE INDICTED.  Ahh....we can all dream.

May God Bless and SAVE America

Election 2016 or, Donald VS Hillary - What A Choice!

The 2016 Presidential Election is fast approaching, and early voting is in progress now.  I cannot remember a worse Presidential Ballot than the one we have coming up this November 1st.  Maybe someone older than me can, but that may hark back all the way to the pre-World War I years.  That is just a guess, and it is really irrelevant.

The fact that our American political system cleared out the pack leaving just these two candidates escapes my belief.  Out of all of the candidates who declared in the primaries, it is outrageously appalling to me that the "best" of the field were supposedly Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  First I would like to rant about Donald Trump.  Mr. Trump is a loud-mouthed, contentious man who is full of himself.  He represents great wealth with which he buys anything he wants, including influence.  He appears to have no "class," by that I mean he says and does anything he wants without thought as to whom he may be hurting, or how silly he looks when he is so boisterous.  As a business man he accomplished a lot by any means he had to use.  I do not know enough about him to know whether he "started with nothing" and built an empire, and I am not really interested enough to do that research.  Regardless, he made a fortune and now reaps the king's benefits from having made that fortune.  But until last year he had no interest in the US Presidency; in fact, he was often busy decrying government intervention in the world of business.  In his rise to billionaire, Mr. Trump learned to deal with people in a brash, rude, and arrogant way.  Will this be the way he deals with his contemporaries should he become President?

There is something about Donald Trump, besides all the above, that concerns me.  He has contributed funds over the years to Bill Clinton.  To Hillary?  I am not sure about that, but I know that Donald, Bill, and Hillary go back for at least the past couple of decades.  Don't believe me...do just two or three minutes "research" on the Internet.  I know this is just the very tip of the tip of the "ice berg" and there is so much more.  The point is, Donald Trump was very, very chummy with Bill C back in the 1990's.  It would not be a stretch to imagine that he was very chummy with Hillary C right up to...well, right up to the beginning of the primaries.  Are Donald and Hillary REALLY arch-rivals now?  Maybe, but I find that really hard to accept.

If it is really possible that Donald and Hillary's rivalry is a sham, then is it not also possible that all of Donald's rhetoric regarding Hillary is also a sham?  If elected, isn't it possible that Donald will suddenly "decide" that some of his ideas as Candidate Trump are just "not feasible" for President Trump to carry out as promised.  In fact, isn't it possible that someone who was "chummy" with the Clintons even as late as last year might also be "chummy" with Clinton ideas and goals?  Said another way, is our choice REALLY a choice at all?

The only candidate besides Donald Trump that has a realistic chance (VERY REALISTIC, I am afraid!) is Hillary Clinton.  About Hillary I have to ask, how is it even possible that she is a viable Presidential candidate?  She has made former President Nixon look like a jay-walker with her various criminal and political activities, including involvement in scandals in Arkansas even BEFORE the Clintons ever made it to the White House!  These activities are well-known, well-documented, and I do not have the time nor the patience to list them here.  Suffice to say that Hillary Clinton is a disgrace to America and, had she done the "email thing" back in 1974, she could have resigned along side of Nixon, who was castigated because eighteen minutes of voice recordings were erased.  I wonder how long it would take to read over thirty thousand emails into an old fashioned cassette recorder? 

Hillary's involvement with events that have left a trail of bodies across this nation and in various countries around the world is also easily traceable through the various recorded media.  Yet millions of Americans are literally fawning over her, literally can't wait for her to be the FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!  Her character, her actions, her words in woefully pitiful denial of those actions - all this notwithstanding - there are half, possibly more than half, of registered voters willing to put this unindicted criminal into the White House.  The gutless Director of the FBI himself said that, although he would not recommend Hillary's indictment, he had found illegal activity of the kind that would have resulted in someone else's arrest.

This election would be laughable if it were not such a serious matter.  One of these two unpalatable choices, barring something totally unexpected, will be our new President of the United States.  One of these two undesirable choices will lead this nation for at least four years.  I can only believe that, like the old Simon and Garfunkle song, "any way you look at it you lose" will hold true for this nation.  Do I think the US is "doomed?"  Do I think this is "the end?"  No, but I think this election more than any other is a wake up call for America.  Do we want to "stay the course" with either Trump or Clinton in 2020?  I hope for this nation's sake that we do not.  More than that, I hope for an awakening of Americans who desire to rein in the government and truly make it a government of the people, to make it a government that truly works FOR the people.  I think we still have time to get this nation on course, and ultimately, to make this nation truly one that is governed under the law of the land, the United States Constitution, to make America great again with neither Clinton nor Trump at the helm.

Cast your vote in the coming election and ...

May God Bless America

A Beautiful Sunday...

Today is a very beautiful day outside and inside, too.  We have just finished with a couple hours of house cleaning (maybe not two, it just seemed like it) and now we are both lounging in our loungers, except she (my lovely bride) is not technically "lounging" since she is engaged in working on her never-ending collegiate assignments.  She loves to learn, my lovely bride.  I, however, do not engage in learning so much anymore...actually I am now more engaged in forgetting what I have learned, as well as forgetting where I put the TV remote...dang it!

I have taken several days away from this blog, for a number of reasons, but today I felt the need to get back into my blogging rhythm.  I have to say that the biggest reason for my lack of blogging for the past couple of weeks is that there is so much going on that I do not like, that is negative for our nation, that is not so good for the world, that I did not want to write about.  I felt that I would get trapped in a negative cycle with my posts, and no one wants to read a succession of negative blogs...not even ME!

As you might guess, the biggest negative thing going on right now is the Hillary Trump Satire On American Politics.  Neither one of these persons deserves to be President of the United States.  Neither person is the "best choice."  How could the American election system have produced this NO CHOICE election ballot?  Not only that, but it appears that as few as forty percent of all legally registered voters will cast ballots.  I may be overly optimistic here...maybe as few as nine or ten percent of the people will cast ballots.  The reason for this low turnout is that many people believe that the Electoral College will select Hillary no matter what the "popular vote" might be.

Another big negative is our government's program of constant warfare somewhere on the globe (actually MANY SOMEWHERES!) so that our military is constantly engaged in some conflict.  On top of that we have "military advisers" located in many other points of conflagration around the world.  Along with this government "permanent war" mindset is the military industry that, to earn maximum dollar, promotes the permanent war mindset and actually exerts a large degree of control or influence on the Defense Department as well as on senators and congressmen.  The last thing this "military/industrial complex" wants is "peace on earth."

Then there is the unrest throughout the nation because of various political and social beliefs conflicting to the point of open violence and rioting.  In both houses of the federal legislature, with both sides refusing to agree on anything except congressional pay raises, no laws can be passed except in watered down, weakened versions that accomplish nothing.

So I think it is safe to say that our American political system is broken and does not appear to be capable of internal repair.  We (including me) the people are too divided to fix it ourselves.

So this blog post could be nothing but negative....

But it is a beautiful Sunday.  There are a lot things that are good and right with the world and right here in our lovely abode.  For instance we got to have Baby Baby with us for two whole days this weekend.  This little angel brightens up the day like a thousands suns could not do.  She loves to sing and play, and she loves to explore.  Honey and I (Pop-ee) spent many pleasant hours with her this weekend, and also got to spend a few hours with her mother, Child B.  Finally Child B and Baby Baby had to go.  My goodness was the house quieter after they left! 

Child A resides with us while going to college and working, and we get to spend a little time with him every now and then.  Child A provides us with many hours of interesting and humorous conversation, sprinkled with his very sharp witticisms.  His personality is as warm and bright is this sun-shiny day today.  Child A, Child B, Son B, and Baby Baby are such great bright spots in our lives, brightness that outshines all the negative in the world.

I just needed to take a while to get things back into perspective.  With all that is going on, with all that could happen after the election, that is going on in the world, overall our nation is a great place to live, and our world is still a world full of beautiful, wonderful, and mysterious things.  I cannot say that I will never write another negative blog, but I can say that I believe the positive in our world, in our nation, and in each of our families, outweighs every negative thing that can be thrown at us here in this "vale of tears."

So today I pray that God bless you all, even in the midst of your troubles and worries, and...

May God Bless America

Protest and Pro Football

In these United States today we have seen many athletes, whether amateur, collegiate, or professional, choose to openly, as representatives of their respective sports, teams, and organizations, show public disrespect for the National Anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner at the opening or closing of one event or another.  Many Americans, including myself, have been outraged by this increasingly common form of "protest."  I find this conduct angering, although I am the first to acknowledge that those who chose to protest in this manner have the constitutionally-guaranteed, bought-with-blood right to do so.

As an American citizen, though I do find the above mentioned conduct angering and disgraceful, I also am very thankful that our government must allow this protest to go on.  Why?  Because if I decided to protest something (I would never dishonor the Flag or the nation for which it stands) I am protected from government action, such as arrest or prosecution, just as are the men and women who are grabbing headlines these days.  I will say it again, plainly: though I find their protest disgusting, I whole-heartedly agree with their right to do it, and their right to remain free from government retaliation.

BUT....
The "right" to protest does not mean that one SHOULD engage in a form of protest that dishonors the blood sacrifices of so many who have died to keep our nation free.  And, while GOVERNMENT prosecution of such protesters cannot and SHOULD NOT be allowed, there is nothing that says these people should face NO CONSEQUENCES.

In 2003 Natalie Maines chose to criticize then President Bush II during a "Dixie Chicks" performance in France.  Maines had every right to her opinion, and every right to blast out her opinion over international airwaves...BUT...she (and unfortunately her two band partners as well) faced the consequences of an enraged nation.  The "Government" did not prosecute her in any way, but her hasty, poor-thought out comments outraged virtually her entire fan base.  Because of Natalie Maines the Dixie Chicks became OVERNIGHT OUTCASTS.  Over a decade later the Dixie Chicks have not regained their position as one of the most popular country acts of the past few decades.  This was because the fans pulled out their support for the Dixie Chicks like a rug suddenly pulled from under a juggler's feet.

Country music fans are some of the most independent people in America, who believe in freedom, and who believe in America.   Back in 2003 the country fans knew that America was not perfect, that maybe the war was not the best solution, but they also knew how to properly respect the ideals that this nation stands for and strives, not perfectly, to uphold.  Natalie Maines did not "speak" for America or even the majority of country fans, and they let Natalie know that in a big way!

Now, over a decade later, a highly popular and athletically gifted pro football player has opted to exercise his right, to publicly dishonor this nation, and to encourage others to follow his example.  We all know that pro football teams want only ONE thing, that is to win!  The particular player that has stirred up this controversy is indeed a highly desirable player.  His team wants to win.  The owners of his team want the team to win.  And the fans of this team want them to win.  Rah! Rah! Rah!

But this player has made his statement.  The only question now is this: Will football fans, players, coaches, owners, and the armies of profiteers of pro football have the same kind of integrity displayed by country music fans over a decade ago?  That's right...can coaches and a team that wants the national championship demonstrate their integrity by not allowing this person to play?  Could fans of this man and his team actually show the fortitude to boycott every single game until this player is pulled from the roster?  Will advertisers exert pressure by refusing to sponsor this team?  Will owners and stockholders demand that this type of conduct NOT BE CONDONED?  Because letting this man continue to play, and not penalizing other athletes who choose the same means of protest, is saying very loudly that athletes, if they are "good enough," can dishonor this nation and face no consequences.

I am not holding my breath, as the saying goes, as I wait for the rightful condemnation of this man for turning a sports event into a captive venue for his political agenda.  I do not expect that he will face near the degree of ostracism that Natalie Maines experienced, because he is a national football great.

By the way, speaking of being a WELL PAID football star, I believe this man's protest rings with a bit of hypocrisy.  If this man is SO OFFENDED by this nation (including the blessings he has received as both a CITIZEN of this nation and a well-paid football player) why does he not renounce his football contract, give away his millions of "tainted" dollars, and move to a nation (if he can find one) that does not have some social injustice blemish on its record?  

If the day ever comes that the majority of Americans feel no loyalty to the Republic, if some day the vast majority of the people refuse to honor the National Anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner, I myself will still stand tall and salute our flag until that day that my body is finally too weak, then I will ask those standing next to me if they can raise me up just one more time to stand and sing the National Anthem.


May God Bless America

A No-Football Saturday Night

This past Saturday evening proved to be an adventure for my family.  The adventure started out in a very mundane way; I bought tickets to the local university football game.  The day went by rather slowly for a weekend day, but finally game time rolled around.  The weather had been very nice all day, but as my lovely bride and I drove toward Odessa, we noticed that the skies to the south and west were very dark and threatening.  A short time later we hit a small rain squall.  Before we reached Odessa, we a passed through a major storm, but then the skies seemed to clear slightly, and seemed less oppressive.

At Odessa we picked up Child B and Baby Baby (our granddaughter) then headed to the football stadium.  Upon arrival we got our first inkling that something was out of the ordinary.  The gates to the stadium were closed and no one was allowed inside.  We were told that too much lightning was happening and the game was delayed.  A short time later a police officer raced to where we were standing and began shouting for everyone to return to their vehicles, and that a tornado had touched down just a few miles west of our location, moving in our direction.  As we made our way back to our car I saw how many other vehicles were on the parking lot.  I realized that if a panic suddenly started, there would probably be many minor accidents and it would be next to impossible to get out of the stadium.  So I suggested we leave immediately.  Just a few other cars were leaving at this time, so our escape was quick.  We drove to the local mall and went inside.  Just in time, it turned out.

About ten minutes later a storm of quite intense magnitude broke right over the mall.  We could hear the noise of the rain falling on the roof, and over that noise we could hear hail striking the roof as well.  Thunder could be heard over the din of the storm.  We ate our dinner at Fuddrucker's then went out into the mall to walk around.  A few minutes later we were urged into an interior hallway, again due to a tornado being spotted in the area.  The storm dropped slightly in intensity shortly, and we made our way toward the doors by which we had entered the mall earlier.  Before we could get out, the storm gained in intensity again, so this time we took shelter inside the interior of the mall's multi-screened theater.  We passed the time keeping Baby Baby entertained, which kept us entertained as well. 

Later I noticed that the storm's intensity had dropped very noticeably, so Child B and I looked outside.  Rain was falling and the parking lot was flooded, but there was no real hazard now other than frequent lightening.  I braved the lightening and made my way to the car.  It was raining even less by this time and I picked up the family curb-side.  We made our way back to Child B's home and dropped off our precious cargo.  Son-in-law was safe and sound.  We were worried about Child A as well, and had maintained contact with him throughout the storm.  He did not experience the fury of the storm as we did, and  was doing quite well.  By the time we got home, another storm was brewing but we made it inside and no longer cared.

I love stormy weather and I even love to find somewhat precarious places from which to watch the lightning and the cloud formations, sometimes even to the point of endangerment.  My lovely bride has no sympathy for me if I meet my demise in a "stupid way" such as being struck by lightning while standing outside during a monsoon.   Mother Nature can be so beautiful and so dangerous all at the same time.  It truly was an awesome sight, this storm, even with all the built-in dangers.  I do love watching these storms, and I guess my hope is that should I get struck by lightning, it will not hurt badly, or at least not for very long.  Most of all I was happy that our family, and all those that attended the rained-out game Saturday evening, made it home safely.  And, there was surprisingly little storm damage.  All in all, a grand adventure.  Can't wait for next Saturday!

We, the Deplorable

So the great and terrible, all-seeing, all-knowing Hillary Clinton declared a few days ago that "half of Trump supporters are 'deplorable.'"  Later Ms. Clinton attempted to "clarify" herself by stating "I did not mean to say that half of Trump's supporters are deplorable."  How clarifying, yes?  Did she actually intend to say that ALL of those who support Trump are "deplorable?"  We may never know, although it is fairly easy to INFER that is exactly what she meant.  So Trump supporters are deplorable.

Deplorable has a couple of meanings according to dictionary citations.  First, deplorable means "deserving strong condemnation."  Another meaning is "deserving censure or contempt."  A third meaning is "shockingly bad in quality."  Hillary always picks her words and phrases carefully.  There is no doubt that she indeed finds those who support Trump (thus NOT Hillary) to be deplorable.  Ms. Clinton also no doubt knows that synonyms for "deplorable" include disgraceful, dreadful, horrifying, intolerable, lamentable, miserable, reprehensible, tragic, unbearable, and wretched.  Thus we may infer that anyone who does not support Hillary is all of the above.

By the way, one more synonym for deplorable is "SCANDALOUS."  Ahem...er....Hillary?  Did you know you YOURSELF are DEPLORABLE.  Yes, ma'am, being very scandalous from your early attorney days as a lawyer on the Watergate committee (from which you were FIRED FOR LYING), to the scandals with you and Bill in Arkansas, to your illegal email activities, and most of all, all the way to your depraved indifference to the plight of the desperate heroes of Benghazi, you have been the VERY DEFINITION of DEPLORABLE.  When, Ms. Clinton, other than during your pre-school years, have you ever NOT been scandalous, or "deplorable?"

It would seem to me that if supporters of Trump are, in your word, deplorable, how much more so are you and those who support you?  In the current two party system, the only way NOT to vote for you, Ms. Clinton, is to vote for Donald Trump.  At least it appears at this point that the third party candidates cannot win the presidential election.  So for many Americans there seems to be no alternative but to vote for Donald Trump.  I personally would rather vote for Donald Duck but he has no chance of carrying enough delegates at this point to win the election, so that just leaves Trump.

Ms. Clinton, I am very pleased that you find me deplorable, if being non-deplorable means having YOUR values (cannot keep a straight face as I type "values" in the same sentence with "Clinton") and YOUR sense of honesty, indeed, YOUR integrity (rolling in the floor now, give me a second!) than I am more than happy to wear the label that you so boldly bestowed on probably forty percent of American voters.  I understand that there is even a T-shirt for "deplorable people" to purchase.  I will be getting one of my own, for sure. 

I have never wanted to be deplorable, but Ms. Clinton has given that word a new meaning, and now I am indeed honored to be "deplorable." 

Stay DEPLORABLE, my friends, and may God Bless America.

America Fifteen Years Later

Sunday marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/1/1 attacks.  I joined millions of Americans and probably thousands or millions of people across the globe Sunday in remembering the attacks and the lives lost, both Americans and visitors to this nation.  Fifteen years ago, but like yesterday in my mind.

Unfortunately fifteen years later we are STILL fighting in Iraq, still sending death raining from the skies down on unsuspecting people, many of whom are innocent bystanders, often in nations that are not our enemy.  We are still watching our soldiers die in Afghanistan, and in a word, we are STILL AT WAR. 

I would like to say here that I support our troops, and I pray for their safety.  A soldier's obligation is to follow his or her orders, to carryout missions as assigned, without question.  I honor the troops who do so.  What I do not support is our government sending our people to fight and die in those places in which our forces completed the stated objectives, but then some new "threat" arises, and more American lives are lost, as well as many thousands of citizens of those nations. 

I do not support our leaders (and the corporate heads pulling their strings) when those leaders arm an irregular force in one nation, while fighting and bombing members of the SAME organization in the bordering nation.  Sounds absurd?  Well this is exactly what is happening in Syria and Iraq.  Our government is supplying arms to ISIS in Syria, while waging war against Isis in Iraq.  Guess where ISIS in Iraq gets it weapons?  Yes, from the ISIS "brothers" in Syria.  To you and me this concept is stupidity.  To our leaders, this is "foreign policy."Please do not believe me on this - do the research for yourself.  It is easy to confirm my statement.

I do not support our leaders who give us a new " bogey man" as soon as we gain control, at least temporarily, of the first one, al la Orwell's "1984."  We (our leaders) got rid of Saddam Hussein, then Muammar Gaddafi, several guys in the Baltic, and finally Osama Son of Laden.  I remember over a decade ago how we were told that the War On Terror (WOT) would be completed once the seventeenth son of Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was put to rest.  Only ten years after Osama was placed on the FBI's most wanted list, he was supposedly killed in 2011 (although a funeral was held for bin Laden in 2001) in a raid carried out by US Navy Seal operatives.

I do not support our leaders in their decision that the people of America can only be safe if the police state envisioned by Orwell is brought to fruition before our very eyes, never mind the Constitution.  It would appear that our government fears its own citizens more than it fears a few thousand "terrorists" across the globe.  I do not support the idea that it is just fine to circumvent the Constitution through laws and executive orders that are clearly in absolute opposition to our rights as Americans and as people in general.  Think USA PATRIOT and the flagrant spying by the NSA.

In the fifteen years that have passed since that terrible day in 2001, we have lost much of our freedom, or face that potential loss with a stroke of the President's pen.  We have lost thousands of soldiers in foreign lands, not because they were not good soldiers, but because of our own incompetent government and its conflicting, irrational, and illegal foreign policy.  We have lost millions of good citizens of other lands during the last fifteen years, victims of that irrational and illegal foreign policy.  The only thing we have not lost is a permanent state of war. 

Barack Obama promised to end these wars, and like many of his other promises, he did not carry through with the "Hope and Change" he crowed about all through 2008 and again in 2012.  It would appear now, in 2016, that no matter which of the two candidates should win the upcoming election, that things will proceed pretty much as normal into 2017 and beyond.   How can I say this? Simply because President Bush II and Barack Obama were supposedly totally opposite in their beliefs and philosophies.  Obama crucified Bush for signing USA PATRIOT into law and for starting and continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Yet Obama followed and expanded Bush's policies as Obama's administration drug on.

Fifteen years and two days after the terrible attacks of 2001, we do not seem to be any closer to the end of the WOT.  Not only that, it appears that our leaders have accepted, and now are trying to get the American people to accept, the idea that we must be permanently at war with someone or some entity "to keep America safe." They have tried and are still trying to convince us that here at home, our only safety lies in the continuing evolution we are in now from a democratic republic to a police state.  Hope and change?  My hope is that the American people will unite and change the attitude of our leaders by making it clear that we do not accept the premise that we must be at war PERMANENTLY, and that we do not accept the need for a continually expanding police state at home so that the government can "protect us." 

As we remember those who lost their lives on 9/01/01 I also hope we remember that freedom is not free, and that thousands of soldiers have died over the years to keep this nation free.  But I hope we also remember that "freedom" and "safety" are not synonymous.  In fact, freedom cannot exist in the same setting as total safety.  The more our government tries to protect us by continuing the (by definition endless) WOT, and by establishing a stronger and stronger police state at home, the more inevitable it is that we will cease to be free.  And if we cease to be free, in the name of safety, we will have rendered vain the sacrifices made by all those who lost their lives on that awful day, fifteen years ago. 

Random Thoughts Over A Glass Of Tea

Some random thoughts from this evening, while sipping tea and mourning the lack of air conditioning due to a dead condenser:

It is not too terribly surprising, though disgusting beyond description, first that a convicted rapist was sentenced to only six months (in a county jail) and served only THREE months due to his "good behavior" while in jail.

At the same time and across the nation, a drunk driver who killed four people in one "accident" is also about to be released after serving a laughably short sentence.  Well, it would be laughable if it were not so disgusting, and it did not represent the failure of "equal justice under the law."

I say this because of a very awful experience my lovely bride and I shared a few years ago.  I will not give all the details here, but the short story is we witnessed a drunk driver who sped by us, vanished beyond a rise in the road, and while out of our sight for a few seconds, struck a car that was parked...not on the shoulder...but in the grass several feet OFF the shoulder.  Two people were badly injured, and young girl was killed.  The drunk driver of course, too stoned to know why his pickup would not run anymore, was not injured in the least.  He was arrested, and eventually came to trial.  My wife and I were subpoenaed as witnesses.  Confronted with our statements and other evidence, the young man, only in his twenties, took a plea pre-trial because he feared he would receive life in prison.  He was lucky...he received ONLY forty years.

Now, why did this man (and he was WHITE, in case anyone wants to say race was a factor in the length of the sentence) received such a long sentence, compared to the two criminals mentioned above?  The answer is he was only a an average guy with average parents who could not afford a high caliber attorney.  He did not have parents with an endless supply of money and who held "high" positions within exclusive communities.  And probably most important, and most disgusting to me, he did not go before a judge who would so willingly minimize the actions of these young criminals because of their affluent lives and entitlement-filled upbringing.  Equal justice?  Really?



We are upset because athletes do not stand and salute during the National Anthem, and that is indeed truly upsetting.  Especially the one who refused to honor the nation yet has benefited from the wealth of the nation since being taken in by his parents, and now is reaping millions of dollars from a professional football career.  This conduct is upsetting, and very confusing.

But maybe it is not so confusing.  We have a President who refuses to honor this nation, a nation made up of many people who elected this man twice, confusing in itself.  This President refuses to salute or even acknowledge the respect shown him by his military detail of honor; he has several times turned his back to the flag at various ceremonies in Washington and other places; he is the first President to have the American flag removed from a press conference so as not to offend Muslims who might have been present.  So actually there should be little wonder that some people choose to follow this President's example.

We are upset that a few athletes have dishonored the flag, and well we should be.  But how much more outraged should we be that our own, twice-elected President and Commander-in-Chief feels the need to publicly dishonor the flag, thus dishonoring the very people who placed him in that high office.



One of the candidates for the 2016 Presidential Election is the subject of several investigations concerning both her conduct as a public official and her activities as a part of the Clinton Foundation.  A string of potential witnesses in various cases concerning Ms. Clinton have mysteriously died in equally mysterious circumstances.  Yet nearly half the registered voters in the United States cannot wait to put this lady into the White House.  Almost beyond my understanding.




Speaking of Ms. Clinton and equal justice for all, I am exhausted from hearing each new revelation of hidden emails or evidence of other wrong-doing.  The Secretary of State has received virtual "get-out-of-jail-free" cards from both the (dis)honorable US Attorney General and the (puppet) director of the FBI.  Of one or both of these officials may have concerns about the mysterious deaths mentioned above and may not want to run the risk of committing  assisted suicide.  Whatever the reason for Ms. Clinton's pre-indictment "pardons," it is plain that she will never be indicted, much less will she ever spend a night in jail.  So maybe the news services could kindly discontinue these kinds of stories about the likely first ever woman to be President.  Do any of us believe a "regular" citizen would not already by sacked, packed, and doing time?



How can the American political process be summed up by a choice for either Ms. Clinton or Mr. Trump?  Many voters are "disenfranchised" by either candidate.  How were much more palatable candidates tossed to the wayside during the campaign?  Worse, perhaps Hillary and Donald WERE the most palatable candidates!  This election seems to be about electing the second worst candidate, whichever one that may be.



We are trillions of dollars in debt as a nation, meaning we, as a nation, are broke.  Bankrupt!  We do not have enough money to fund Social Security, to keep our promises to our veterans, or to fund various other necessities, such as national infrastructure, but we seem to have endless money to fight various brush wars and proxy fights around the globe.  We have endless supplies of cash to build drones with which we attack people in nations with whom we are not at war.  And we also seem to have an endless supply of money with which to fund the excessive travels our First Family and First Golfer, and for Congress to grant themselves endless pay raises and extravagant pensions. 

Yes, random thoughts, questions I cannot answer...

And now it is time for another glass of tea...

May God Bless (and Help) America



 

An Old Sewing Needle And A Cave In Siberia

Archeologists in Siberia made a very interesting discovery earlier this month, a sewing needle believed to be over fifty thousand years old.  This needle was discovered in an ongoing dig that has been yielding surprising, even shocking finds since 2008.  The needle, for instance, reveals that humans were sewing clothes many eons ago.

The location of this and many other finds is known as the Denisova Cave.  The cave is located near the borders of Russia, China, and Mongolia.  As scientists have descended further into the cave and dug down from one strata to another, they have reached the conclusion that the earliest inhabitants moved to the cave around 288,000 years ago.  I imagine that many college texts will be re-written after all this information is compiled, analyzed, and published.  A very interesting conclusion these scientists have reached is that the later Denisovans, Neanderthals, and homo sapiens all occupied this same area, the only such place known of on this earth at this time.  This rather startling conclusion is not only based on physical evidence and relics, but on DNA samples found in the cave as well.

The needle found recently is causing quite a stir among the brainy professor set for a couple of reasons.  First, the very fact that humans made a needle that long ago defies the accepted story of human archeology.  Second, the needle, which is made of the bone of a bird that lived (obviously) in that time period, has a hole in it so that thread could be inserted into the needle.  Of course, you say.  Well, what is truly mystifying is that the hole appears to have been drilled, not punched.  Not only does it appeared to be drilled, but the drilling is so precise and done in such a way that the bone was not otherwise damaged.  In other words, the scientists believe that the hole in this particular needle was drilled with some type of high-speed drilling device! Of course, no high speed drilling device existed at that time, right?  We can no longer be sure of this. 

Pre-historic high speed drills and homo sapiens cavorting with Neanderthals?  This is the stuff of good science fiction, yet it is being unveiled before our very eyes.  Another surprising finding is evidence linking the inhabitants of the Denisovan Cave to earlier people from Africa, and to trade with people who used a trading route that would later become known as the Silk Road.  Some of the "younger" finds include bones of a young female, yet this female is believed to have died around forty thousand years ago. 

So much of the information and the artifacts being unearthed at the Denisovan Cave is startling, controversial...and mysterious.  I am great admirer of the mysterious.  I know that science prides itself on having the answer to every question, or at least being on the way to that answer.  But science also loves to tell us that things, events, happened a certain way because of perfectly logical natural laws, physics, etc.  So I am always pleased when things of mystery arise and cannot be easily explained, or if explained, do not fit into the classical explanation of things.

All around the world, from Siberia to South America, strange and wonderful things have been discovered, and are yet to be discovered, which cannot be fully explained, which do not fit into the classical explanation of the origin, history, and even the age of our world.  Even such an ordinary thing as a sewing needle, when found in the right set of circumstances, becomes instead an exotic object of awe and mystery.  One of the things that makes life interesting is the discovery of extraordinary things, or better, the discovery of ordinary things in extraordinary circumstances...like a 50,000 year old sewing needle.  This needle defies explanation...how was a such a precise hole drilled by a high-speed drill centuries before high-speed drills were even invented?  How could homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans have existed all together in one location?  I sometimes hope that at least some questions like these go unanswered until the very end of time.  For me, life is so much more interesting when mysteries pop up every now and then, so much more fun when "we just don't know everything."

A Baby Dies After Being Left In A Car All Day - Helotes, TX

News has by now spread around the nation, maybe even to some other nations as well, a baby left in a car all day was found dead by the child's own father.  This happened in Helotes, just south of San Antonio.  This is a terrible and completely avoidable tragedy, but it happened.

I can say that just a few years ago, even a few months ago, I would be on the band wagon calling for the neck of the person who left a child in a hot car...in this case, by the infant's own father.  The events leading to the child's death were fairly mundane.  A new father is supposed to drop off his child at a sitter on the way to his job.  Was he late to work?  Did he have some problem weighing on his mind?  For whatever reason this young man went in to his job and left his infant son in the backseat of his car.  The baby perished in the heat...not being found until the father clocked out of work and returned to his vehicle.

Yes, I know...there is NEVER A REASON that a child should be forgotten in a car.  And yes, a person should be punished for leaving a child to die in a car.  But today, maybe with getting older, maybe with having seen so much along the way to where I am now, I am not full of anger and rage at this man.  No, I admit, I do not understand how one forgets that his or her child is buckled into a car seat.  Modern infant carriers are so complicated that it would seem almost impossible to go through all the necessary steps of strapping in a child then forgetting about the child.  But it happened.  A child is dead, so needlessly.

I have no connection to the family that lost this child, and I do not even remember the name of the father now, but for some reason this terrible event has lingered in my mind since I read about it yesterday.  I cannot imagine the agony that baby went through and I do not want to imagine it.  Now that child is in the arms of the Good Shepherd and will never suffer again.  But someone else is in agony now, and the care of the Good Shepherd may be unfelt by him at this time.

Yes, I am talking about the child's father.  He may face criminal charges, may be convicted on those charges, and could even spend a year or more in prison.  I have a feeling that even if this man spent fifty years in prison, he would still never get over causing this child's death.  Even if he serves only one year in jail and is freed, this man will never be free of the burden that he failed to protect his child.  I have to say that I will never understand how a father forgets his child in a car...but I feel sympathy for this man as well.

What! You must be crazy, Mr. Meeks!!

Well, like I said, a few years ago, or maybe even just a few months ago, I would have called for this man's head.  Today, not so much.  I know that if I choose to judge someone, then the Good Shepherd will judge me with THAT SAME MEASURE (Matthew 7:1-3, emphasis mine).  I cannot fathom how this man left his baby in a car, but I can feel to some extent what he is going through now, having lost an infant son myself.  No, I did not cause the death of my little angel, but I was still so indescribably heart-broken, sad, angry, and angry at God, above all.  So sad for my lovely bride, and so sad for all the plans we had made in our minds concerning this child. 

This is where I can sympathize, in a way, with this man and his family.  He will have to live with the results of his poor judgment and negligence for the rest of his life.  And, he will have to live with the knowledge that he caused this indescribable level of suffering and pain for his family.  There is a great probability that some of his loved ones will shun and revile him.  Perhaps his wife will never forgive him.  Perhaps some of his friends and relatives may never forgive him.  Living with himself after causing his son's death will worse than any amount of time in prison...because even if he never spends a day in confinement, he can never escape from his mental and emotional prison.

I will go out on a risky limb here myself and say that I am praying for this young man, that he lives over this and is able to someday forgive himself, with the help of God.  And I also pray that young parents across the nation will remember to watch carefully for their children, and to protect them as fathers and mothers should do.

Our President And Hater Of Police In Chief

President Obama has once again demonstrated his true beliefs about America and his utter disrespect and disregard of American law enforcement officers.  In this time of unwarranted assassinations and intentional injury to police officers by thugs of all brands, particularly though by those hiding behind the skirts of the Black Lives Matter farce, the President has answered the newly declared war on police officers by authorizing the Dishonorable Loretta Lynch and her "Justice" Department to create a stronger program to track "police killings" at the state and local level (NOT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL).

When I first saw the article I thought the Justice Department was creating a better system to track KILLERS OF POLICE OFFICERS but I soon found I was sadly mistaken.  Mr. Obama wants a strict accounting of all persons killed while in police custody or during encounters with police officers.  This is an especially sour-tasting measure since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through its various crime reports, ALREADY tracks "police killings" across the nation.  Not only that, the FBI does not hesitate to review officer-involved shootings or other fatalities, as well as assaults committed by officers.  Further, the FBI administration is literally drooling from the mouth to do "civil rights violations" investigations on state and local law officers.

President Obama did not offer any sort of encouragement to police officers across the nation, or condolences to fallen officers.  He did not acknowledge the reality that there is a new (or renewed) war on police officers.  He could not even stay off the political soap box for the duration of ONE memorial service for five slain officers in Dallas, but instead of offering some encouraging, unifying message, or condemning these murders, he used that venue to make another tired call for gun control.  Now he has added further insult by calling on the Justice Department to be sure it is getting accurate information regarding police shooting and fatalities in jails and other holding facilities because he believes that state and local authorities do not hold police officers accountable for unjustified killings.

The President's call to the Justice Department to review deaths while in police custody or during encounters with the police, supposedly a move towards "transparency," rings hollow because he exempts federal agencies from this same scrutiny.  This means the killing of persons such as the bombing suspect in Baltimore would not be reviewed.  The killing of the farmer-protester in Oregon will not be reviewed.  In fact, if you or me, or a loved one is killed by one of the many federal agencies with police powers, chances are slim that there would be any review outside of the usual internal investigation.  Did you know such internal reviews have cleared EVERY SINGLE FBI fatal shooting that has ever been reviewed?!  Imagine, not one single FBI agent has EVER committed an unjustified shooting in the ENTIRE HISTORY of that agency! 

President Obama lost another opportunity to bring calm and good judgment back to the forefront.  Instead of supporting the nation's police officers, the President in fact fostered even more division and hatred by promoting the idea that police officers (particularly White officers) are out to kill Black men at every opportunity.  Instead of condemning the actions of those that have murdered officers, the President calls for more gun control.  Instead of meeting with the families of slain police officers, the President brings the families of thugs to the White House.  And as if all this were not enough, the President now wants Frau Lynch to find ways to prosecute more "local" police officers. 

This President, who came in on a wave of popularity that seemed to me to overshadow that of John F. Kennedy, has become the most odious person ever to hold that high office.  How was he re-elected?!  And now, even as his Administration is fading, this most odious President managed to get in yet another blow to the fabric of this nation by promoting hatred and distrust of our police officers to a degree unseen ever before in America. 

In spite of it all, however, the Blue Line is still standing strong, holding their own, and will continue to do so long after President Obama has faded into just another bad memory.

May God protect police officers...

And May God Bless America

A Rather Sappy Post From A Rather Old Softy

This post is going to be rather sappy, so be warned.  I am just a rather old softy at heart. This story climaxed today but actually started about two weeks ago, the last time I mowed.  I know it must have been two weeks ago because the weeds I mowed today were about knee high.

Two weeks ago I mowed the weeds (and few blades of grass) because the weeds were, well, knee high.  I was mowing some rather tall vegetation along the end of the house when I looked down and saw a horrifying sight.  A Texas Horned Lizard (a horny toad if you from these parts) was writhing in the grass I had just mowed.  The poor thing was bleeding from its head, and it was missing a front foot.  I was struck with remorse and compassion for this creature and I did a crazy thing.  I caught it and took it into the house, where I provided what little help I could think of to do for it.

Just as I had feared, the horned lizard was missing its right front foot.  But the injury on the head was bleeding very heavily.  I poured water over the poor little horny toad, and I am not sure what I thought that would do for her, but at least it got off some of the blood.  I then wrapped the animal in a small white cloth and held it for a few minutes. 

My spouse, seeing what all was going on, was struck speechless, but only for a few seconds.  When she recovered her voice, she insisted that I take the horny toad outside and release it since there was nothing I could do for it.  I knew she was right but I felt incredibly bad about hurting this little creature.  Since there was really nothing more to do, however, I took the horny toad outside and placed it under a large rose bush.  I consigned the poor thing's spirit to the Great Spirit and returned to mowing.  That was that, or so I thought.

Flash forward to today, this morning at 11:00 AM, to be specific.  My lovely bride and I were constructing a small rail and brick fence in the front yard.  My lovely bride yelled and pointed at something, and then I realized that she had seen a horny toad.  I thought to myself wouldn't it be something if this turned out to be "Stubby!"  Then I saw it myself.  It was Stubby!  I was elated!  I had feared that Stubby, as the horny toad was now known to us, must have crawled into some sheltered place and died.  But there she was!

The tragedy of running over a horny toad was even greater because I suspected that I had run over a pregnant one.  She was very fat.  Today Stubby was very skinny, so apparently she gave birth at some point after our dangerous encounter.  I have not seen any horny toad children, but then, there are a lot of loose cats around, so it is possible that the baby horny toads had some felinious encounters. But I was so happy to see that Stubby's head was healed, and she seemed to get around very well on three good feet and one stub. 

I know it seems awfully mundane and probably very sappy, but I was so happy to see that this horny toad was alive and thriving in spite of the injuries I had caused it when I rolled over it with the lawn mower.  I believe that horny toads, which are so much a part of Texas lore, have been declining in numbers over the past couple of decades, so I certainly did not want to needlessly kill one.  Yes, I know, this was a sappy story, and I admit, I am definitely just an old softy,

The World Watches The Sad State Of The "Union"

The title of this post is my opinion, I admit, but I believe it to be true, nonetheless.  I believe that people around the world, particularly those people with some knowledge of American history, are watching in disbelief, and in sadness, as the state of this "Union" slowly and steadily worsens with each passing day, certainly with each signing of another of President Obama's executive orders.

I believe that each day, around the world, thousands of people are wondering what is wrong with America?! I sometimes envision these people asking themselves, "When will America WAKE UP!"  Maybe some of these people are also thinking to themselves, as America, so the rest of the world.  The United States of America, the land founded on freedom and liberty, framed by one of the greatest human-produced documents of all time, our Constitution, is hovering on the brink of dictatorship, yet to the rest of the world, it must appear that America...and I mean by that YOU and Me, American Citizen, are standing by while our freedoms and liberties disappear!

Actually the title is not totally made up of my own opinion.  I have read in social media over the past few months comments from people in many different nations wherein they ask the same questions I have asked above.  I have seen the comments at the bottom of many news stories covering the latest Obama Executive order.  Many people asked the same question, "When will the American's wake up!"  These people are speaking of our "representatives," that is Congress, the Senators and Congressmen who have the authority, the power...AND THE RESPONSIBILITY...to rein in the President and his runaway dictatorship.  Congress has demonstrated over and over during the past seven years that they WILL NOT stand up to President Obama and demand that he follow the Constitution.  President Obama is the SAME Obama that ran for office in 2008 promising to do all he could to dismember the USA PATRIOT Act.  Instead, President Obama not only ram-rodded the renewal of USA PATRIOT, but also signed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which once and for all did away with our Constitutional assurances of freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.  Our Congress, instead of casting this bill out into a fire pit, eagerly like a bunch of lap dogs voted this bill into a law, which of course Mr. Obama signed immediately.  These men and women, our "representatives," failed to PROTECT AND UPHOLD the United States Constitution, as did the President.

Since that time, the President has issued many Executive Orders which seek to curtail our liberties.  Congress has not taken a single step, as a body, to attempt to rein in this would-be dictator and his most over-bearing executive orders.  Instead, Congress either cannot get itself to act on these matters, or is itself enamored with this President and seeks to do his bidding like a little boy begging for his father's approval.  Oh, that little thing about "representing the people" has been cast aside as our Congress basically represents their OWN best interest, that is, making sure that they stay in the best light with the President, and to blazes with the state of the "Union."

So, that brings me back to we Americans, "we the People."  Why are we standing by as this democratic republic literally crumbles around us?  What aren't we DOING SOMETHING?!

That is indeed a question...WHY AREN'T WE DOING SOMETHING?!  I have to admit that frankly I am puzzled as to what it is that we CAN DO...at least at this point.  You see, we The People, are responsible for this situation, just as much as are our representatives in Congress. Americans have continued to re-elect the same "representatives" each term, then elect them yet AGAIN. When I say "we" I am actually saying most of the twenty or thirty percent who vote in elections other than the Presidential Election.  A very small number of voters, year after year, vote for candidates other than the "two real choices," that is the Democrat or the Republican that is running for whatever office may be under discussion.  Many people have felt that there must be a better choice, but that better choice "just could not beat" the "main stream" incumbent or leading opponent.  Most voters simply vote for the name they recognize, or vote for the candidate of "their party" regardless of what that candidate might really stand for (or lay down for, as the case may be).  Still others vote for the incumbent simply because he or she IS the incumbent.  So it is safe to say that most American voters, complain though they might, have done precious little to turn the "Establishment" out of office. 

I believe that many people here in the lately endangered "Union" may feel that they do not have the time to get "involved" any deeper into politics than voting in an election or two every few years.  It is easy to imagine that this is true.  Most families now have two heads of household working fulltime to make just enough to stay ahead, or maybe just to stay "even."  Then there are the endless activities for children that occupy much of the "off work time" available to most families.  Then there are volunteer activities and so on.  The bottom line is that most Americans are too busy to get more involved than just voting every now and again.  This has been the norm now for several decades.  The other side of the coin is that this "norm" has meant our government has operated without a lot of supervision for those same decades.  And, oh, so much has changed. 

USA PATRIOT Act, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA), as well as numerous Executive Orders signed by both President Bush II and President Obama, have all eaten away at our Constitution, so that now we are one signature on an Order of National Emergency away from total martial law.  I am not speaking as a tinfoil hat -wearing lunatic, but only as a person who has read these orders and acts, or portions of them.  I have not read, for instance, the complete USA PATRIOT Act, because this "Act" is over THREE THOUSAND PAGES LONG.  Having NOT read this law in its entirety puts me in very good company actually.  Why?  Because few, if any, of our "representatives" in Congress have read it in its entirety either, even more than a decade after it was passed. 

One reason that I have not read this treasonous law in its entirety is that the parts of it I have read are just too scary.  USA PATRIOT provides the reasoning and the practical means for the curtailment of our civil liberties whenever the President decides we are in a "national emergency."  The great thing about USA PATRIOT is that it leaves the definition of national emergency to the discretion of the President (by the way I capitalize President just because I like to).  One thing USA PATRIOT does clarify that a national emergency does not have to be an attack on the nation or a major civil insurrection.  It could be as simple as a major hurricane...like Katrina, for example. 

This ability to "federalize" the nation was further enhanced by the NDAA of 2012, President Obama's baby.  The NDAA-12 outlines practical procedures for the operation of the United States under a military government, all for our own safety of course, when the chips are down for some reason.  This "Act," just like USA PATRIOT Act, is an open document that anyone can view right here on the Internet.  On top of all that, the almost innumerable Executive Orders signed by both Presidents Bush II and Obama simply add more teeth to the Martial Law grinder.  So, as I said, I am not speaking as a representative of the "Head-Voices Crowd" when I say that we are just one signed order away from a dictatorship.

The point is that the rest of the world has watched America as this dictatorship becomes more and more viable with each passing session of our legislature.  I suspect that as the rest of the world watches our nation crumble, they also hope that the American people will somehow rise up, will band together against our out-of-control government, and will demand that our Constitution once again be honored as the Law of the Land, and that our land become, once again, a land under the rule of law.  I suspect, also, that many people around the world wonder, as do I, whether we are not already beyond the point of no return.  Given that our law-makers cannot get elected without a great deal of corporate backing, it follows that the laws that are passed most likely benefit one corporate sponsor or another.  So the people, themselves, are not represented any longer by our "representatives."  Nor does the Chief Executive have the best interest of the nation in mind - if he did, he could govern other than by Executive Orders that circumvent the Constitution.

But at this late hour, what can Americans do to rein in our government?  The rest of the world is waiting to see what that might be.  I don't pretend to know what to do about this situation, so I am not going to be of much help.  For instance, voting on the national level does not seem to help.  It appears that no matter who, or what party, is in office, the trends toward a possible dictatorship continue.  The laws passed by our Congress neither represent us or benefit us any longer.  I blame the voters for this, at least partially, because incumbents are re-elected more often than not.  One definition of insanity, I have learned, is to do the same thing over and over, but expect different results each time.  But that exactly describes our collective voting habits.  Most voters vote for the incumbent each chance they get, then wonder why our government is broken.

There is more I could write about, such as the exceedingly POOR choices we have for Presidential Candidates this time around (uh...just like last time, too) would seem to require Americans to pick whichever of the two they perceive as the "lesser of two evils."  And, as usual, the shrill cry that a third party candidate cannot win the Presidency assures that most people will vote for one of the two "viable" candidates.  Unfortunately, no matter which one of the "lesser evils" wins, policies remain essentially the same.  Want proof?  Just review Obama's 2008 political rhetoric with his actual Presidency.  Not much difference between him and Dubbya, after all.  

Yes, there is more I could write, but this blog has ran long already.  Suffice to say, in summary, I believe the world is looking at America now, wondering what we will do, when we will do it, and if it will be enough to save this Republic.  But one thing we, as Americans, should realize, is that the rest of the world is not only watching us, but is DEPENDING on us to act as a people, as a proud nation, and somehow rein in this government of ours...because in so doing, we will actually be saving the world.  I firmly believe this...as the United States of America, so the entire world.  Once this democratic republic fails, and a military government rises in its place, the nations around the world will fall one by one.  This scenario does not have to take place, but unless we all put our heads together and figure out how to stop our rapid advance toward dictatorship, I think what I have described is a pretty accurate description of what we can expect after the coming election.

Boy, do I hope I am wrong about all this, and...

Please...

May God Bless...and PRESERVE...America