It's out in plain sight for everyone to see...

 Todays political landscape is interesting, and compelling. It's a real task to understand just how it all came to be, but politics is like that. But at the core of it all are a few key issues. First, I believe would be the fact that the nation has become so divided. I dont think calling it Democrats against Conservatives is the right way to characterize it, though that's a start. It's more a clash of perspectives and ideologies. Conservatives and liberals is more accurate. What's noteworthy is that there have always been liberals and conservatives. Since probably sometime in the 1800's. Differing ideologies. And that's not a problem. Until recently. Seems now it's a problem. And the reason it's a problem is there's no middle ground, no compromising, no tolerance for a perspective that differs from one's own. A different perspective is now somehow 'wrong'. What happened to understanding, compromise and tolerance? What happened to patriotism? I guess there are different opinions on just exactly what patriotism is now, as if the meaning of it should ever change... Just as there are differing opinions on exactly what is right and wrong now. With no tolerance for other opinions. And second, this lack of tolerance is carried to extremes. To violence and hateful speech and behavior. Decadence, is what it is, a constant state of extenuation. The state of the nation is a state of decadence. There is no sense of unity or direction. We no longer deal with the problems of the nation as a nation. The right and the left insist on dealing with it their way. What was once a great, solid, unified nation (One Nation, Under God) is no more. The glory days of being strong under the leadership of great leaders eludes us. We simply dont have any at present. The Lincolns, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, the Reagans, would be disappointed. They did their job when it was their time and they did it well. They were able to bring the country together. 

So, let's get back to the point. Is the recent leadership of the country doing things that are 'wrong'? We shouldn't look at it as right and wrong. It's an issue of what's best for the country and Americans. That characterization certainly opens up a fresh can of worms though. I've no doubt that every president from Dwight Eisenhower forward has believed they were doing what was best for the country. So, how do we know whether they actually were or not? One must look at some key, critical areas; the economy, inflation, jobs, immigration, global geopolitics (wars)... There are of course, more but these are the ones that win and lose elections and affect a lot of people's lives. Let's keep the discussion focused and look at the last eight years. How were the actions and events concerning these topics affecting Americans during the administration's of Trump and Biden? The answers are literally out in plain sight for everyome to see. Granted, it takes effort as the mainstream media that we could once depend on to bring us unbiased information doesn't exist any longer. We must now be able to filter the facts from the crap and lies. But it's all out there in plain sight for everyone to see. However, humans are very adept at seeing what they want to see. At hearing what they want to hear. At believing what they want to believe. Even if they are suffering for it. It's all very complex yet it's all very simple. Are you paying more for food, gas and essentials than before? Are you unemployed? Is government telling you that you must drive an electric car now? The you cant have an abortion, even if you were raped by an illegal immigrant? Yet in the past none of those issues were issues. 

Like I said, the reasons for such things are all out in the open for all to see...

Drag Queens........Really?........

Watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games this year was, well, spectacular. It's always spectacular because, after all it's the Olympic Games. This is a tradition of humanity that dates back to ancient times. How many rituals of modern life date back thousands of years? It's a time-honored and revered tradition. The opening ceremonies are pomp and circumstance but they are legitimate. An event esteemed by the entire world deserves pomp and circumstance. But this year, let us say that the ceremonial train got off the rails. That is, with the inclusion of the drag queens. These days we have to be inclusive, right. Let's not leave out any group deserving of being recognized. Diversity, equity and inclusion are the cornerstones of modern civilization, right? As Barry Obama so aptly said, "Everyone deserves their piece of the pie." Let's think about that for a second. There are basically two groups of thought on this. There are those that believe everyone must earn their way. You get out of it what you put into it. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Work hard and prosper. The other group believes we must be a society of compassionate and caring people. Provide for those who are the 'have-nots'. Give everyone a piece of the pie regardless. I know what you're thinking, that's a description of conservatives and liberals, right? It wasn't meant to be such but yeah, I suppose it is. We started this conversation talking about why the Olympic ceremonies included drag queens didn't we? Has modern society evolved (or devolved...) to the point that we now include men who adroitly dress as harlots and tarts in official ceremonies? Are these legitimate members of society or simply hirsute female imposters? Most would typically think of participants of ceremony in a global event of unity to be respected members of society. So, these 'members' are worthy of our respect?... 

I suppose everyone must answer that for themselves. American society was constructed to provide for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I guess that means drag queens get the green light here. But this happened on a global stage. I also suppose we have to bear in mind that this stage was produced by the Frogs. They have been know to be weird on occasion. But, (everything has a big but, right...). But the hairy hookers took it a little too far this time. 

They concocted a scene that looked dramatically like the "Last Supper." It was met with backlash, criticism, and disdain by Christians the world over. By all appearances this was an insulting violation of sacrilege. The response, "We didn't intend to offend anyone." Really? Frankly I'm sick of these quips of denial in spite of evidence to the contrary. It no different than stomping on a person's toes then when told "you stepped on my foot" and responding with "I didn't step on your foot." There's too much of that going on of late. Trying to figure out what were they thinking? Forget it. Trying to figure out what those of dubious character and unstable mind are thinking is akin to figuring out why cattle fart. Who knows and who cares. Once it blows out their ass it's done. Deal with it. 

So, what are we to think of this 'event'? It's kind of like a cattle fart in a way. It was inexplicable, they blew it out their ass and now we're left to deal with the stench. 

Back to writing again...

 Six months ago I retired from my job of 48 years. Let me tell you, that's a long time. I never thought that I would work that long and to be honest, I have no regrets. Had I retired sooner, I think the transition would have been more difficult. Even at 70 it's not an easy transition. The first few months are great, you feel free and unburdened. Then it starts to sink in what life is going to be like for the rest of your life. Everyone is different, granted, but I believe most are probably like me. If you have been really busy for the last 50 years or so, your need to stay busy doesn't go away. You're still going to need to be involved and engaged. The only difference is what you are involved and engaged with changes. You have to decide what that is... In essence, you have to create a new life for yourself. And then live it.

About 14 years ago I had a great life experience. It inspired me to do something that a lot of people say they're going to do but never do it. I wrote a book and published it. It hasn't made enough money to change my lifestyle, but who knows, maybe someday it will. I think it's a really good book and I've had a lot of people tell me so. I've also been told that it would make a fantastic movie. Writing it was a wonderful experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I'm proud of the accomplishment. So much so that I started another book. The second book has turned out to be a journey that I never expected. I like action thrillers, I read a lot of them. Not exactly murder mysteries or spy novels, but thrillers that involve ordinary people that get into extraordinary situations. I would call my current project a historical thriller. You know, James Michener kind of stuff. Understand, I'm not in James Michener's league, never will be. But I chose this type of story because my wife is an American Indian. Choctaw tribe. As I learned about her ancestors I became fascinated with their history. And some very famous, and infamous people that crossed paths with the Choctaws. I've been working off an on for about 12 years on this book and I'm happy (and relieved...) to say it's about to wrap up. It's historically accurate but the characters and some events are of course, fictional. The research to achieve the historically accurate part was extensive and I'll admit, that's not my favorite way to while away hours. Many of the fictional characters are based on real people and I've asked each of those people for their permission. I haven't denigrated anyone, my goal was to honor them. But here's the catch, I'm working on developing the denouement, that is, the ending. The final twist in the plot. We've all read some books that were really good, maybe even great, but then you get to the ending it's disappointing. Lacking, leaves you hanging. And then there's those books that as you near the end you cant stop. You cant put it down. And when you read the last word all you can think is wow! Holy cow, didn't see that coming. Trust me, as a writer that's the toughest part of the job. Readers will remember you because you delivered.  

With no job to go to anymore this is my job now. It doesn't pay much and there are no benefits, but I can show up when I feel like it and not show up when I dont. (And no one cares...) But most of all, it's fun. I can't say just when it's going to hit the electronic shelves of Amazon, all I can say is I hope soon. Very soon. I'll post when it does, and when it does do me a favor and grab a copy and have a read. I promise you won't be disappointed and you'll have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. 

When Does it end? For now, it doesn't...

An incident that happened some time back when a high school basketball player sucker punched a player from the opposing team causing serious injury came to mind. The incident involved two women athletes and I see in the news that another very similar occurrence took place recently involving two male high school athletes. The incident was caught on video so, of course the whole world wanted to watch. People seem to have a fascination with watching raw violence. The other player in both cases was injured, seriously... Over what? It wasn't stated in the article but it had to be, obviously something like, we lost, a blocked shot, trash talk on the court, a perceived dirty foul, something really big and life-changing, you know. But to seriously injure someone... One was charged with a felony the other may be facing the same. Though I doubt that initially caused much in the way of remorse or reflection. This is but two examples, they are countless. 

So, what is going here? Cultural breakdown, an erosion in decency and decorum, kids that haven't learned respect for others, solving your issues through violence, a lack of maturity? All of that and a lot more. We have a lot of problems when it comes to civility. Serious problems. In order to have any sort of peaceful order in any civilization there must be consequences for wrongdoing. Otherwise, well no further explanation is really needed. That's not sustainable, and there certainly would never be peace. The bad actors would rule. 

Let's go back to your childhood. If you misbehaved, your parents would punish you. At least for the infractions they knew about. If you hit your sibling you were spanked, sent to your room, grounded from privileges... And such things were painful as a child. They meant something, they hurt. And they often worked, they were effective at changing your bad behavior. As an adult there also must be consequences for bad behavior. You know, to keep the order. Bad behavior tends to cause misery for others. This is exactly what our forefathers were thinking when they were setting up our democracy. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is no way to put it any simpler than that. No one has the right to screw with someone else's life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. If you do, there will be consequences. There must be...

As a child, the monumental authority of your parents beating your ass usually did the trick. Or putting you in time out, depending on the type of household you grew up in (rolling my eyes...). For adults locking your ass up in a jail cell (with a rowdy cellmate...) and a hefty fine works for most people. But not everyone. Bad actors tend to be persistent bastards. Recidivism is rampant. In fact, when it comes to punishing adults we rarely get it right. Time and again you see cases where offenders of serious crimes, assault, battery, rape, felony theft, robbery, even murder are charged and incarcerated only to be back on the streets within days. Sometimes merely a matter of hours. And more often than not committing the same crimes again... 

It begs the question, who is responsible for this lunacy? Who is doing this? As a democracy, a civilization, a country we're not stupid. Well, let me rephrase, most of us aren't stupid. The ones who carry the load of culpability are not the people. In fact, this isn't really complicated at all. The ones who make the laws (and change them...) are the ones presumably tasked with doling out 'justice'. In short, politicians and judges. Eliminating or not even requiring bail, ridiculously low bonds for serious, violent crimes, releases for overcrowding, a broken immigration control system (but let's not go there...). There have been countless innocent lives lost because because a sworn-to-uphold the law judge released a violent criminal who fell back into their old habits and killed again. Or raped again, or assaulted again. 

So what's going on with these Neanderthals who identify as judges? Why do they do this? They believe they are interpreting the law and the problem is the law. It couldn't possibly be their own short-sighted ignorance and inability to think. Of course not. But let's be honest, and blunt. Speaking directly to the group of idiot mongrels who identify as judges, it's on you. Yes you. Our laws and legal system however fallible it may be was intended to protect us and our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness. And it's your job to make that happen. If laws can be twisted and "interpreted" to allow violent criminals back on the streets then they can certainly be twisted enough to keep them locked up. Feel feel to use a little common sense whenever the urge strikes you. While the populace is out keeping the economy moving, providing healthcare, producing goods and services, keeping the lights on in your home and gas in your car do something productive yourself. Lock up violent offenders and keep them locked up. We all have rights, of course we do. Even if you have been accused of a crime. Even if you have been convicted of a crime. But listen closely, victims of violent crime have rights too. And one of those rights is to not have the same criminal inflict the same violence on you or the public again. And yet again. Snowflake ideology has no place in our legal system. In fact it has proven to be lethal time and time again...

Police Problem?

 In recent years you can't help but to have noticed the occurrences of police interactions that have resulted in citizen deaths. These occurrences have resulted in a lot of exposure in the press. And obviously most of this exposure has not been positive for the police. So it would be rather easy and expected that a majority of the citizenry would come to the conclusion that we have a police problem. That the use of deadly force has gotten out of hand. And that many of these encounters are racially charged and motivated. There have been countless protests and demonstrations and destruction of property. Any behavior by the police that results in the death of someone, other than someone who poses and immediate deadly threat ( I guess we need to qualify that...) can at face value be deemed unacceptable. All of the premises that we expect, and take for granted such as due process, innocent until proven guilty, to serve and protect are removed from the equation. In these cases it appears that the police took the role of judge, jury and executioner. The cartels, the mafia and the banana republics may be accustomed to and accept such behavior but we're not and we don't. Even the wild west back in the day had judges. They weren't consulted on all matters. but, hey, we had them. 

So, just exactly how big is this problem? If it happens even once then it's a problem. If there is any loss of life then it's a problem. But is it a pandemic problem? According to numerous studies and accounts only .003% of all interactions between a resident and a cop result in the use of deadly force. Of the over ten million interactions with police officers every year only a thousand of them involve deadly shootings. Are all of those deadly shooting's unjustified? Hardly. First you'll have to identify and exclude all the cases where the officer was defending himself. The perp pulled a knife or gun or some other weapon and threatened the officer or someone else. Fully justified. Or anyone else for that matter to defend themselves or anyone else. But the documented statistics say it's not prevalent, rampant or pandemic as the press would have you believe. Not all police officers are good lawmen who routinely exercise good judgment. There are bad apples with badges and guns. And sometimes they kill people that shouldn't be killed. This is a serious crime and should be punished accordingly. When it's a police involved shooting, they should be punished the same as anyone else. No exceptions. There are plenty of bad apples among us all. They're in every group, organization, cabal, profession, community, religion, literally everywhere. The difference is when most of us make a bad decision no one else is affected and certainly no one is killed. But when a police officer makes a bad decision with a gun in his hand it never ends well. Police officers are in a very unique position when it comes to the use of deadly force. The benefit of the doubt immediately goes to the police. If a citizen used deadly force and it is not obvious they were acting in self defense, they are detained while the matter is investigated. And they certainly are not given the benefit of the doubt. Not to say that police officers should not be given the benefit of the doubt, in most cases they should be. But every instance should be investigated thoroughly and objectively. 

Invariably in every case whether the incident is white on black, white on white, black on white or black on black the issue of racism is injected. No matter the color combination race is rarely if ever the issue.  Just as in rape, sex is not the issue or the motive. Use of deadly force is a complicated occurrence that is not motivated by race. Much of modern policing is driven by crime data and community demand. In most cases there was a direct threat to the police officer's life with a deadly weapon. Deadly weapon attacks on police officers happen on average 27 times a day in just 2\3 of the nation's police departments. If you threaten a police officer with a deadly weapon your chances of surviving the encounter are not good. As well they shouldn't be. It's an issue of cultures clashing. It's an issue of selecting the right people to do the job of policing and properly training them. And properly supervising them. The police are an armed force. Why do you think the armed forces; Army, Navy, Marines... train and live by strict discipline and code of honor and chain of command? When you have a large group whose mission and task involves the need to be armed, how else could it be done?... Strict discipline, code of honor and chain of command, and lots of accountability. Police need to and should do the same. Police misbehavior should never reach a court of law. It shouldn't happen in the first place. With competent supervision and training there would be a lot less misconduct. And a lot less incidents of the use of deadly force. Throw in a little common sense on the part of everyone involved and you'll have a much more desirable outcome...

Time to take out the rest of the trash...

 You have Hunter Biden over here on the one hand who is consistently displaying antics and behavior very unbecoming of a presidents' son. Not to mention that he's also a grown-ass man. He fathered a daughter from a past romance, or in his case probably more of a mindless dalliance. He has from the beginning refused to accept any responsibility for her and has fought vigorously to keep her from being able to legally claim the Biden name. Only through DNA testing was he forced to admit that it was his child. He desperately doesn't want her to be able to claim the Biden family name. There would obviously be many advantages for this child to bear the name of a President. Even a bad one... Joe and Jill on the other hand, have never even met this child. Ever. The have never so much as acknowledged her existence. There were stockings for all the Biden's children and grandchildren on the mantle at the White House, except hers. Even the dog and cat had stockings, but not her.  This isn't something you'll easily find in the media, simply because it isn't there. They don't like to talk about such things. This is the President of the United States granddaughter. I'm trying to see some compassion, some integrity, some solid morals here... I don't see any. Not even a trace.

Then of course, there's the infamous laptop debacle. Hunt' drops his laptop off for a repair, never comes back to claim it. The shop owner takes a look at the hard drive and finds things that causes his eyes to pop out of their sockets. He however, does have some integrity and decides to call the authorities. He turned the laptop over to the FBI. He also kept a copy of the contents of the hard drive, which somehow found their way to Rudy Giuliani, which then found their way to the pages of the NY Times. The FBI then begins to publicly discredit the NY Times publication with the good old standby, the Russian interference crap. I personally think they have about worn that excuse out but that seems to be their story and they're sticking with it... But, now here's the kicker, the vehicle, the medium for their discrediting efforts came through a clandestine and obscure relationship they 'cultivated' with Twitter executives. And, of course the Twitter execs willingly cooperated by closing and censoring accounts, etc. Violation of first amendment rights to free speech? Probably. And the fact that Twitter was paid several million dollars for staffers time by the FBI didn't hurt either. 

Along comes Elon Musk who buys Twitter and finds this morass in his newly purchased company. Before you know it, the Twitter Files are made public. It was really just a matter of Elon showing up at Twitter and taking out the trash. Now the truth is out there for all to see. 

So where's the outrage? Where's the collective sense of  "what in the sam hell is going on?" The news of Hunter Biden's business dealings are nothing new. The most casual of observers know that Hunter is and has been involved in myriad crooked shenanigans to garner as much money (and drugs) as he can get his paws on. It's also beginning to look as though Pops is in on it to some extent. And a large proportion of all this hanky-panky involves Chinese officials at various levels of power. Most of the facts are out in the public domain, so why isn't there a prolific outrage? There are a few reasons. One, the FBI with all their considerable resources are still at work to deny, discredit and just outright cover up as much as possible, and succeeding on most fronts. Oh, and by the way, those considerable resources, guess who's paying for those?... Yep, you. The taxpayer. And who does the director of the FBI report to? The Attorney General who in turn reports to the President. Hunter's daddy. Another reason for the subdued outrage? Twitter, who verifiably has been colluding with the FBI and getting paid for it, has been silencing the negative talk about Bidens. All of the Bidens. Deleting accounts. Including Trumps... Censoring posts. And if you have read any of the Twitter files, there is proof of all this happening, the Twitter Files. Trying and succeeding in confusing as many people as possible. And believe me, there are a lot of voters out there that it takes very little to confuse them. Then along comes Elon and rains on their happy ass little parade. 

But, there's always a big butt that  shows up when dirty business is going on. As long as the Democrats had control of the House there was no reason to investigate Hunter's business dealings (according to them...) or anything else related to the Bidens or the FBI. But, the dems aren't in control anymore. The investigative wheels have already started turning looking into Hunter's shady business dealings. The DOJ has assigned a special counsel to investigate the classified docs found in Pop Biden's office and garage. Interesting... The FBI can bully the old Twitter (but not the new one...) but the special counsel is hands off. He's a Trump appointee which means he's not a dem. Director Wray, have a seat. 

So, back to the original question, who or what is the biggest problem? The Bidens, nah. They'll be investigated, might face some charges, probably get their filthy little hands slapped and in a couple of years they'll be history. The FBI is a huge problem. But that all comes back to leadership. Who in the hell was in charge letting those little shits get away with that crap? Barry Obama and Joe Biden. With a little luck and if the creek doesn't rise, maybe the rest of the trash will get taken out...

Is it a Pack Mentality...

 Reading the news, I used to enjoy getting a newspaper and keeping up with what's going on in the world. It was once relaxing and there was enjoyment in it. But that was then. Such is no longer the case. It's no secret why, there's just too much bad stuff going on. Way too much. Major cities have become decadent. I live near one and from personal observation I can tell you it's bad. Crime has skyrocketed. Everything from murder, rape, burglary, arson, human trafficking, theft (including everything from bicycles to airplanes) is off the charts. Places, neighborhoods that were long thought to be safe aren't anymore. Living in the suburbs used to be the solution. Not anymore. And just why, exactly is this happening?... Perhaps we should carry that question a little further, why does this keep happening and getting worse?..

Have our values changed? Our morals? Even our sense of right and wrong? Of course they have. All of that. But the problem lying at the root of all this, at the very core is way too many of us are simply accepting it, going along with it. I don't meant to sound like I'm throwing everyone under the bus, I'm not. There are plenty of solid people out there who are standing up, who are calling out those who are creating and promoting this pandemic of decay. There are still even sources in the mainstream media and press that are calling it like it is. Though you do have to seek them out. They aren't the ones on TV in your face very night. First off, it's a problem of leadership. If any one group deserves the bulk of the blame it's them. The leaders. Let me name some of them; corporate leaders, mayors, city council members, district attorneys, chiefs of police, governors, congress men and women, supreme court justices, presidential cabinet members, and of course the commander-in-chief himself and his useless sidekick. We look to our leaders to do the work of building and maintaining the structure that society needs to function in a productive and civil way. With few exceptions, we elected them to their positions. We should expect this of them, it's their job and responsibility. We should hold them accountable. And when they fail, we should get rid of them. 

But that's not often the case. It happens, all too often, that there is a miserable, horrible fail and not only are they not dispensed, they are re-elected. And re-elected again. All of the fallout from their failures are overlooked, denied, even defended. Let me offer a stellar example, Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago. She was elected in 2019 and hailed and heralded as the first black, female lesbian mayor in Chicago's history. Since she was elected crime has spiked over 40%. Last year, homicides rose to their highest levels in 25 years. She operates under the thumb of the cartels. Chicago has long been known, very long, as a Democratic bastion. So why don't the dems get rid of her? Elect someone else? Because she's protected by her diversity shield. Not all democrats agree with this. But they all accept it. They go along with it. Maybe they're telling themselves 'damn, this is bad but it's not really that bad.' Will she be re-elected? Probably. Is she the worst mayor in the country? Probably. 

Political party ideology is a pretty complex subject. But it does have some very obvious, consistent symptoms. One of them that the dems seem to struggle with is they'll grab hold of something that makes absolutely no sense and benefits but a few (or maybe even no one...) and they'll run with it. And keep running with it. And they'll all get behind the dog with the bone and cheer them on. Seemingly, forever. Dogs have a pack mentality, they follow the one with the bone. Relentlessly. Are democrats dogs? I don't know, look into what's going on in Chicago then you tell me... I really feel bad about disparaging dogs, though.

Let's get caught up...

 I've been neglecting this space for awhile and a lot has happened. That's an understatement of grand proportions actually. A lot has happened, it's more like the world has undergone a step change right in front of our eyes. And some of that change has not been of the good kind. 

Back in early '21 we were blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) with a new president. Trump thought he won, but he didn't and he acted like an ass about it instead of gracefully and respectfully stepping aside. Democrats gloated about it and went to work passing copious legislation of all sorts of dubious types. The tab for all the socialist acts of wonder just happens to come to a few trillion dollars. Now, keep in mind, there is no such thing as free money. During the past couple of weeks Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. Most of the money was tagged for environmental purposes, and most experts and economists agreed that the Act would have little to no effect on actually ameliorating the effects of inflation. Just yesterday, Biden signed an act that would forgive up to $20,000 for federal student loans. The tab for that will amount to over $300billion over the next ten years. 

So, in the end, who pays for all these trillions and billions that the Biden administration is spending now? Who pays for anything and everything in this country? The taxpayer. The government doesn't actually earn anything. They don't produce anything. (Stupid legislation doesn't count...) Forgiving student loans was a pure and simple act of buying votes. To remain in power. Economically, it's a disaster. Politically, not so much. Biden is not an altruistic leader. What comes out of his mouth is not necessarily what he thinks and feels. I'm not so sure he knows what he thinks and feels. Or what comes out of his mouth for that matter... 

The political parties have become very divided, since Obama was in office. Ideologically, the gap only keeps widening. We can only hope that Abe Lincoln's quote "You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool all the people all of the time" actually comes true here, and soon. 

CoVid-19

CoVid-19. We've been hearing that a lot lately. It has dominated the news and our minds. And for good reason. It's a pandemic, an epidemic of global reach. It's affecting every country and every human being on earth. Perhaps a once in a lifetime occurrence. Or at least let's hope it is. Health experts the world over are doing their best to not only learn more about the virus, but to develop an antidote for it. But it is proving to be a formidable foe. Just read an article this morning, from a reputable, reliable source, those of which are not all that common these days, that the virus isn't even a living thing. It doesn't have any of the traditional trappings of life: metabolism, motion, the ability to reproduce. Outside a host, the virus is dormant. And it can last that way for a long time. It can remain viable - potentially infectious - on cardboard for up to 24 hours. In 2014, a virus frozen in permafrost for 30,000 years was retrieved by scientists and was able to infect an amoeba after being revived in the lab. Thirty thousand years. This is indeed a formidable foe...
World leaders are doing their best to take measures to contain and hopefully soon, stop the spread of infection. Well, most world leaders. China, it appears from the facts coming to light, could have avoided for the most part what is happening today by taking action sooner to contain the virus when it first appeared. Instead, they chose to silence the doctors and health officials who first became aware of the virus' existence. Hence, it began to spread uncontrolled in China, then to the rest of the world. They have since attempted to shift blame to others, particularly the United States, with lies and propaganda. Typical communist SOP. This week, they have proclaimed that there has not been one single reported case of the virus. Not one. If you believe that I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona for you.
Here in the US, officials have been issuing directives and orders to work from home, avoid crowds and specifying crowd size, close various business and organizations. These are necessary measures, no doubt and the effects of such are devastating. Many are losing their jobs, means of supporting their families, lives are being altered in horrible ways. And we haven't even peaked, the worst is yet to come, if that's possible. This is akin to a plot from a science fiction novel. The virus may be novel but this isn't fiction.
Government officials from the President on down are issuing proclamations, recommendations, directives, orders and ordinances concerning what the public should and should not do, what we can and cannot do and what penalties and fines we are subject to for not adhering to the new rules. Threats of jail time, prison time are being thrown about. Desperate measures for desperate times. Most of us understand the gravity of the situation understand and that some inconvenient restrictions have to be made to deal with it.
We, nor has the world faced anything like this before in modern times. Like nothing before it will require working together, putting aside differences. Failing to do so will cost lives. From this tragedy, literally anything could happen. No one knows what the future holds. This is one time that humans need to come together and put aside politics, ideologies, conflicts, and even nationalism. And looking back at the history of the world, that isn't likely to happen...

Could this really happen in America?...

It's 2019. Two hundred and forty-three years after the writing of the U.S. Constitution, undoubtedly the most profound and effective document ever written in the history of the world. If it were going to fail, if it were to be found unworkable I believe that would have happened by now. Our founding fathers knew it wasn't perfect, so they provided a means for change, amendments. So far, during the past 243 years twenty-seven have been ratified by the 50 states and become part of the Constitution. Almost 12,000 amendments have been proposed. During each term of Congress since 1789 about 200 amendments are proposed. And only 27 of those have actually been ratified and become law. Every single ounce and drop of power that the federal government has, and it has a lot, is granted to it by the constitution. It has no power to do anything that was not granted by the constitution.  It starts with the words "In order to form a more perfect union...". Well, we're certainly not a perfect union, but just think what we would be as a country today if not for the constitution. I don't even want to go there.
The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. Guaranteed, unalienable rights afforded to every American citizen. As I said earlier, almost 12000 attempts have been made to change it and only 27 passed muster. One of the Bill of Rights is the right to keep and bear arms. Touchy subject of late, right? There's a lot of clamoring to change that in recent times but considering the history of attempts to change the constitution, good luck with that. I think you'd have far better chances of baptizing a cat than changing the constitution. And that is as it should be.
Anyway, back to the point of all this rambling. Since the election of 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president there has been a lot of nefarious activity going on which mostly boils down to friction between those who like Trump and those who don't. I'll not go into reciting a bunch of details, every concerned American has kept up and knows most of them by now. And if you understand what has been happening, then I am sure that like me, you're concerned. Very concerned. This is the closest we have come to having a coup in this country since it began, 243 years ago. Of the 195 sovereign countries in the world, 128 have had a coup or attempted coup in their history. That's 81 percent. That is what any reasonable person would call a "vast majority". Those are things that happen when you don't have a solid framework for governance. A constitution. Someone or some party doesn't like the one who is in power so they plan and execute an attempt to overthrow them and assume power and control themselves. There are always lots of complicated circumstances but the root of it all is really that simple. The string of events since the 2016 election has almost put us in that majority of countries who include a political coup in their history. Make no mistake, many, if not all of these countries that have had 'coup capers' are not pleasant place to live, or even visit for that matter. Many are still to this day marked by violence and unrest, instability. Cameroon, Afghanistan, Ghana, Venezuela, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Libya, Russia, Turkey, Yemen... There are some that have experienced coups and have gone on to recover and form, well, better unions. Denmark, UK, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Germany... But many unfortunately continue to languish. And their people suffer. If this doesn't concern you, then you haven't been paying attention.

Some really important things to talk about...

I've been writing this blog now, off and on, for several years now. In spite of being a novelist, I write action thriller stories, when I sit down to write this blog my interests turn to the political scene in the U.S. I write about my observations, opinions, and just my general take on things going on in the world of politics. After all, this is pretty important stuff.
Now and then I'll indulge in Facebook. I think it's pretty cool to catch up with friends from the past that I haven't heard from for a long time and to keep touch with good friends that I don't get to see much anymore. But Facebook is, just well, Facebook. It's the small talk of life that just happens to take place on the internet.
Until recently that is.  I have a good friend that I know from high school that a couple of months ago started some posts on Facebook. He has been posting about his father's wartime experiences during World War II in the Pacific. These are not ordinary posts about ordinary experiences. He was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese and was held with thousands of other servicemen for years under the most cruel and horrible conditions imaginable. What he endured and experienced was so far from our ordinary lives it's difficult to comprehend the depth of the atrocities. Yet at the same time it is so well written and the story is told so well that you cant help but feel involved. You cannot help but feel indebted to this man and his comrades, all of whom suffered terribly and many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. This is one of the best examples of a beautiful story about a horrible chapter in history of what some great men, American men have done so that we can live free. We must not and cannot ever take this for granted and this story clearly shows us why.
The true irony comes in that this is not some unknown writer recounting historical events. This is a friend, that I know well, writing about his dad. I've known this friend for a pretty long time but I never knew he was a writer. Not just a writer but a pretty darn good one at that. Up till now his story has come in posts on Facebook. Due to the impact of his story and the quality with which it is written I've encouraged him to start his own blog. He could reach a lot more people who, like me I'm sure would be grateful to share this fascinating story.
If ever in my life I've read a story about heroes, real, true heroes, it's your story Jimmie of your Dad and his fellow soldiers.
Until his blog is published, please go to Facebook and search for Jimmie Brock. Read this story about American Heroes, his father, and leave a message and let him know what you think. For those of you from Alvin, you may know him as well. Thanks for sharing your story, Jimmie. And for your friendship.