Legislation and Money Alone Cannot Fix all that Ails US ....

I have been so busy lately with studying and the move. Somehow, I missed the shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, near Denver Colorado. This story of the brave young man, Kendrick Castillo, who risked his life, with the assistance of his two friends, in order to save the lives of other students --ranging in age from 5 on up to 18-19-- is incredible!!! In face of true evil, this young man made a split-second decision to put his own life on the line in hopes of saving other students. Costillo sprang immediately into action and confronted the gunmen with assistance of his friends, XXXX and XXXX. This quick-thinking and heroic action enabled Kendrick and his friends to disarm the shooters, thereby preventing subsequent causalities while allowing time for police to arrive on the scene. The actions of these brave young men are by far the greatest expression of self-less bravery I have witnessed in a long time, especially from young men barely beyond the age of childhood themselves.

In a way, it can be sad to think that Kendrick Costillo, only eighteen years of age, had his whole life ahead of him. He had worked hard in school and ROTC in order to obtain a commission into the Navy and he was scheduled to graduate in just weeks.  The sadness of this tragic loss aside, however, this world could surely use more young men like Kendrick Costillo, men sure enough in the courage of their convictions that they would not hesitate to render timely assistance to others in need, even at their own peril.

Safe travels as you journey on to your next great adventure, Kendrick! Know

that you leave this a world a better place and we are forever grateful for your loving sacrifice.

I think Kendrick Costillo's type of confidence and courage, as well as that of his friends who assisted in confronting the gunmen, comes largely from the environment one grows up within. This is an idea and conversation we seem to have lost sight of in recent decades, from a national perspective anyway. The idea that strong family, extended friends and a connection to communities in which we live truly matters, which is the antithesis of the predominant trend of instant gratification by way of electronic, non-personal, interactions on social media platforms and the like. I suppose the ease of use and the allure of convenience, not having to put yourself out there, make electronic interaction seem easier? You just have to sit back and let the ‘world’ come to you these days? It takes courage to roll up your sleeves and actually get involved on a personal, physical level in the world in which we LIVE? Well, if nothing else, this is a conversation the we should be willing to have, with ourselves at least. Maybe the conversation will spread thereafter? It is encouraging to me that a reported “42% of Facebook users have temporarily stopped using the platform in recent months.” I am optimistic with the prospects for meaningful engagement in the midst of this profound change. Now, I am not saying Facebook and the like are entirely ‘BAD’. I am just saying their overuse, misuse and the ongoing exposure to agents of unchallenged misinformation and blatant bias have real-world, negative consequences: Not the least of which of is growing sense of isolation and disconnectedness among our youth.

All the above being said, I am left wondering if you could step into a Time Machine and go back to a time before the advent guns, would you prevent their invention all-together? And would doing so, in turn, make any real difference in the world of the here and now? Or is it, perhaps, the BEHAVIOR and not the ‘weapon’ itself that kills? That is to say, will someone hell-bent on unleashing violence and destruction find a mechanism for carrying out their intended objective, guns or not? Perhaps at the end of the day, where guns are concerned, the time has finally come to acknowledge the reality that we cannot legislate behavior and that guns in the hands of law-biding citizens actually save lives.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of the rights of law-abiding citizens continually being called into question every time we witness the unfolding of such a tragedy in our nation, much to the benefit of the lawless among us. This feel-good ‘easy-button’, knee-jerk response is rather moronic to my way of thinking. Why? Because it fails to fundamentally address the underlying causes for this tendency to violence in the first place, particularly among the youth of today ... which goes back to my initial premise: that you cannot legislate behavior where weapons are concerned. BUT what you can and SHOULD DO is embrace a willingness to begin a sustained conversation about the circumstances that predispose our nation’s youth to acts of unthinkable violence in the first place. National funding to help secure our nation’s schools was a great place to start, but there are some things that you just can’t fix with money and legislation alone. Realizing this and accepting the challenge to get personally involved is an often overlooked, necessary step toward helping to prevent future such attacks in our nation’s schools.

Q:  What steps could you, personally, take toward the end of reinforcing positive values and a sense of tangible belonging in your own community?

5/21/2019  Growing up on military bases as a child, we had recreation centers in our communities which had everything from bowling lanes, pools tables, tennis courts and ping pong to board games.  These centers also offered classes like gymnastics, martial arts etc.  They were a great place for allowing children from diverse backgrounds and faiths to come together, interact, learn and grow in the absence of any planned agenda (i.e., religion) and unlike YMCA, there was no cost involved for participants.  I honestly think our youth would greatly benefit from having such places available to them in the places where they live.  Especially, in a day and age where most parents works full-time.  Such centers would also provide tangible opportunities for adults in the community to volunteer their time and skills to mentor the next generation ... pay it forward.  We have a recently built community center where we live now, but the way it is run is such that the primary function of the center is to host paid events such as weddings.  Opening the space for the community and teens in particular seems to paid lip service only.  It's truly sad!  Were we staying here, that is something that I would fight to change.  Hopefully, someone else will pick up this worthwhile cause?  Suicide rates seem pretty high in our community?  Maybe the First Lady's "Be BEST" campaign can work to help secure matching funds for building community centers with a youth/teen focus across our nation?  Surely such community centers would go a LONG way towards helping our youth find their center, a meaningful connection to others, purpose, passion and direction in their lives once again.  They would also provide adults looking for volunteer opportunities a valuable place to focus their attentions and skills.

5/22/2019 My daughter suggested perhaps the outrageously wealthy, Mr. Jeff Bezos could help to get community centers built and running around the nation ... A living legacy of investing in future generations who will wind up running the show, so to speak.

What Makes America Unique?

What makes the United States of America unique from other countries is our FREEDOM to pursue our own version of "Life, Liberty and Happiness."  These are our inalienable rights per the U.S. Constitution and every American should, where our government is concerned, hold these truths to be sacred above all else.

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Message for Joe Biden:  Our most fundamental right is NOT the "Right to Vote." By far our most fundamental right is our individual FREEDOM to pursue our own version of "Life, Liberty, and Happiness", so long as we do not directly interfere with the rights of others in pursuit of these objectives.  Perhaps we should be wary of those who would convince us otherwise???

One wonders, is political correctness antithetical to this pursuit of LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS?  Does subjugating ourselves to the mob rule by way of "political correctness" limit who we are, who we are capable of becoming .. being? Isn't it time for Americans to begin embracing our authentic selves?  By truly owning our uniqueness, chiefly our diversity of thought --the one thing we actually get to choose, unlike gender or skin color-- only then will we be in position to make America great (FREE) again.  Dare to color outside some annoying, limiting PC lines???  And choose your government, elected officials wisely!

Wherein lies the true Collusion and Obstruction?

Watching the news and CSPAN these days, I find myself wondering "Wherein lies the true Collusion and Obstruction?"

Okay, I'll be honest I have not yet had time to read the "Mueller Report" in its entirety.  That being said, I have taken in inputs from multiple noteworthy news and information sources.  My take away from what I have come to understand thus far is the following:

1)  Mueller's primary job was to investigate for evidence of "collusion to interfere in a Presidential Election."  He halfway did this, choosing to ignore evidence on the Democratic side of the equation, namely the origins of the Dossier --provided by Fusion GPS, via funding from Hillary Clinton and DNC, and now we are hearing possibly some funding from President Obama's campaign funds-- where this 'Trump Dossier' was improperly used to obtain multiple FISA warrants on Carter Page and other elements of the Trump Campaign.  Hopefully, the DOJ will pull on these threads to see where this information leads.

2) Mueller's conclusion as to the above was "no evidence of collusion" on the Part of President Donald Trump or his election campaign.  Let me repeat this, because the mainstream media isn't accurately reporting this.  They seem to be spinning the narrative that it isn't over yet, because Congress has further investigations to conduct, which is legally inaccurate.  Robert Mueller and his team of lawyers were tasked to put this matter to rest and they found no evidence of collusion on the part of the President of the United States.  Robert Mueller is the Special Counsel 'hired' to make this determination; Mueller made his determinations and now it's over.  Congress has already conducted numerous independent investigations, none of which turned up any material evidence of a crime.  What does this mean?  It means that after years of ongoing investigation it's about TIME the U.S. Congress finally gets back to the business of legislating!  One wonders, has the U.S. Congress completely forgotten that their primary reason for being is to actually LEGISLATE??!!??

3) "Obstruction" was a secondary aspect Mueller chose to investigate.  That is to say, did the President interfere, with malicious intent, into the investigation into "Russion collusion" in any legally indictable manner ---aside from Trump's being angry at having the start of his Presidency mired under investigation, along with suspicions that his campaign had been spied on.*  Keep in mind, the sole job of the Special Counsel is to indict, in the absence of formal indictment our justice system operates under the assumption of "Innocent until proven guilty."  The burden of proof does not rest with the accused, be he/she a sitting President or just an ordinary citizen, contrary to what many sitting members of the U.S. Congress (Democrats) would have us believe.

*[Evidence has recently come to light which appears to support Trump's suspicions of "being spied one" and Attorney General Barr has vowed to investigate further.]

Had Mueller found clear evidence of obstruction, legally speaking he was obligated to have put forth that claim, along with supporting evidence to back it up in his report.  That was his JOB, but Mueller didn't make this claim.  So to claim now, after the fact, that underlying --necessary!-- criminal  evidence does exists for an "obstruction" charge against the President means one of two things:

Either a) Mueller didn't do his job or b) Partisan Politicians are now choosing to abuse their 'oversight' powers in order to continue their spin-narrative toward the end of delegitimizing the duly elected sitting President, thereby openly attempting to negate the outcome of the 2016 Election and subsequently the "will of the people."

These politicians actually think they know what is better for "We the People."  They basically think  that the collective "we" are too stupid to make valid choices for ourselves.   They mistakenly think that we are too inept to hold them accountable for their abuses of power and lack of producing any meaningful legislation (e.g., meaningful immigration reform legislation) that would actually benefit "We the People."  This egregious behavior should enrage voters on both sides of the aisle!  Because at the end of the day our entire country suffers when our elected representatives chose to serve interests other ours, particularly when they fail to attend to their legislative duties.  This current mentality that if Rules, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, aren't working for you can just work your way around them is BEYOND SCARY!  Operating from this perspective, one is left wondering can the outcome of any election be manipulated in such a manner moving forward?  Biding time with costly, time-consuming bogus investigations until the next election cycle rolls around.

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"We The People?"

4) Attorney General Barr did go up to the Hill and testify before the Senate as requested.  His answers were pretty straightforward and to my way of thinking his responses served to dispel many of the mistruths being put forward by the Democrats and dishonest media outlets.  You would have reached a similar conclusion if you had watched the testimony being carried live on a few networks and CSPAN, while the dishonest networks just showed clips that supported their ongoing propaganda narrative that "Trump must be an agent working on behalf of Russia."  One wonders, where were these same vigilant, hard-hitting investigative journalist when President Obama had his HUGE 'hot mic' moment with Prime Minister Medvedev? Maybe it's me, but I'm not seeing any sort of rational balance in reporting these past few years.

As such, my recommendation to you is that you watch the congressional proceedings on CSPAN for yourself ... DVR them.  That way you can begin to get at a version of truth without the concerted propaganda spin-narrative being presented by the mainstream media.  Because in the absence of accountability for the actions (or lack thereof as the case may be) of our elected representatives and senators --which is underpinned by our access to accurate information, which we used to be able to obtain from our mainstream media-- the "consent of the governed" is basically meaningless.  The job of "We the People" extends beyond merely voting in elections.  We have a duty to remain continually, and moreover accurately, informed such that we can become fully engaged in monitoring the business of government.  Only then can we make meaningful choices, with intentional consequences, when we engage in our political election process.

5) Holding Attorney General Barr in contempt of Congress is really rich, given the fact that Barr has made a nearly non-redacted version of the "Mueller Report" available to members of Congress.  The only condition being that the document has to be viewed at the DOJ, and this is for legal reasons surrounding the release of documents containing Grand Jury testimony.  ***As far as I know, to date, not one single Democrat has taken advantage of the opportunity to go and read this near-non redacted report version currently available at DOJ.***  Furthermore, it is the actual LAW that prevents Barr from releasing a non-redacted version of the report --again given the legally binding confidentially of Grand Jury proceedings/information-- and the Democratic members of Congress know this!  ***If AG Barr gives them what they want he will be breaking the law.  The Democrats are just trying to make it appear as if Barr is trying to hide something in an effort to further their dishonest spin-narrative.***  This type of behavior is actually disgraceful and such a wide deviation from what our Founding Father's intended when they established our representative form of democracy.  It's shameful really to see our politics degenerate to this level of open partisanship and hostility.

Also from what I understand, Barr's refusal to testify before House is due to a deviation from standard procedure.  Members of the House Judicial Committee are supposed to present their questions directly to the Attorney General.  Instead they want to bring in 'legal staff' to ask the questions, likely in the hopes catching Barr in some legal entrapment scenario I guess???  As such, AG Barr is well within his legal rights --and quite frankly common sense rights-- to refuse to appear before the committee.


Bottom line:  Whether or not the current Democratic machinations and spin-narratives actually work --that is can they pull one over on "We the People", which ironically winds up proving their current modus operandi that "We the People are basically stupid" -- will ultimately be up to you and me, "We the People."  So now is the time for all good women and men to be truly informed --from multiple news and information sources, especially CSPAN-- and to embrace a willingness to think outside the box in which they would have us 'safely' contained.

This whole two-plus years of one-sided investigation, where little truly meaningful legislation has been put forward and completed by Congressional initiative has truly left a bitter taste in this Independent's mouth.  As much as I would have had an appreciation for some of the Democratic policies aimed at improving the lives of the less fortunate in the past, I am just not seeing these initiatives being carried out anymore with actual policy implementation.  The Democrats are all talk of late, while President Trump is action, followed up by more action.  Moreover, the Democrats seem to have a complete disregard for the hard-working blue/white collar middle class.  The Democrats seem to have lost all perspective from where I am standing.  Quite frankly, like President Trump or not, any honest person has to admit that  he's getting some pretty important policy implemented across the board and the lives of millions of Americans --not just those at the top-- are improving as result of his efforts. When you stop and think of all that the President has had going against him since election day 2016 --and even before as it may turn out-- it's actually rather remarkable that Trump has been able to accomplish so much. But perhaps some of us have yet to pull our heads out the mainstream media's "acceptable narrative" box in order to see it?


5/9/2019  Apparently President Trump has now invoked "Executive Privilege" --and keep in mind he could have done so at any point throughout this entire process.  President Trump has chosen to prevent Robert Mueller testifying any further before Congress --Mueller has already previously testified.  I say, good for the President!  Maybe this is what it takes to hit the "reset" button and to finally get the U.S. Congress back to the business of legislating on behalf of "We the People."  The President has indulged those in Congress eager unseat him for long enough.  If they can't find their own way to an end to their ongoing delusional trip, then I am perfectly fine with letting President Trump find it for them:  Enough is ENOUGH!  No more distractions, innuendo, lies and letting the pressing business of the country slide.  It's time to get back to doing the business of "We the People" U.S. Congress!

5/12/2019  Over the weekend I saw an interview with renowned legal scholar who holds that Robert Mueller's 400 page report, laced with reams of abject speculation, deviates dramatically from what is the legal norm.  Where the legal norm is to put forth only evidence of indictable offenses for subsequent prosecution.  In the absence of formal indictments, the Trump side of "Russian collusion" and obstruction should be a done deal.  The TIME has come to spend our investigative oversight time and money on looking into the origins of the "Trump Dossier" and abuses by the FBI in weaponizing their investigative mandate during the 2016 Presidential Election, neither of which have been looked into thus far.  Objective balance requires we complete these investigations in order to prevent such abuses from happening in future election cycles.  Maybe the Democrats response to the conclusions drawn by the Mueller report -- namely there were no indictable offenses-- amounts to a shell game (i.e., "Keep looking over here; don't look over there") because they are concerned about where an investigation into the other side of collusion and obstruction will lead?

Dogs Playing Cards Anyone?

I found myself thinking lately that with all of the partisan political turmoil and tragic violence we have witnessed of late perhaps we could use a bit of levity here?  With that in mind, thought I'd share a funny personal story here with you.  You see, we are in the process of moving again, which usually equates to a lot of stress.  Well in light of our impending move my husband has taken it upon himself to go through the house and "down-size" (picture this being said in a serious, deeply husky voice with focused intention). "Down-size" seems to have become Ken's new mantra, while mine is "I will survive" --I packed nearly every single box for our move across country and it seems as if I will be doing almost the same this time around.  In any event my daily query something to the effect of "Hi, honey, how are you today?" leads to the predictable response from Ken of "Down-size, down-size."

Every time I am away from home Ken seizes upon the opportunity to purge, not fully realizing that if you throw away something I/we need, I will have to go out and buy it once again.  How is that in anyway cost effective, I wonder, while simultaneously thinking the need to purge must be hard-wired into the male of our species? Every  once in awhile I will come home in time to inspect the newly assembled mountain of 'trash' resting on the curbside.  In these rare instances, I will quickly take stock of those items designated for timely removal from our household possessions.  Occasionally I will find something that doesn't belong in the trash.  In these instances I will pull those items back out and stack them in the garage for packing.  My husband has zero sentimentality.  There is not a sentimental bone in his body, so I really have to watch what he decides to throw out.  The other day, I found a few sentimental items resting in the trash pile, among them was a black trash bag tied securely into a double-knot.  Judging from the dust resting upon the bag, it was evident the bag had not been opened in quite some time.  The bag was heavy, with a folded heavy-weight 'blanket' something inside.  The odd thing was that this bag had not even been opened, which made me wonder how my husband had reached the conclusion that this particular bag needed to be tossed out?  In any event my sixth-sense alarm was going off, so I pulled the bag out of the discard pile and opened it up.  Inside I found a huge wall tapestry of "Dogs Playing Cards."  This tapestry had been Ken's most prized bachelor possession, next to his booming stereo system and candy-apple red, souped-up "Camero" car.

Remarkably, we have somehow managed to keep hold of this tapestry for years, from move to move --even across the entire country-- mostly for sentimental reasons.  Necessity dictated, however, that the tapestry could not have a place on the walls in our current residence --hence the double-knotted black trash bag-- but I had kept the tapestry just the same.  This tapestry was a huge part of who Ken was when we first met and while his other wall adornments had TO GO (I'll leave those to your imagination), Ken and I had both agreed that "Dogs Playing Cards" should stay.  Needless to say, I pulled the tapestry out the trash and safely stored it in the garage, in the "Do not touch this!" area -- off-limits to Ken.  Then I proceeded to give him a call at work,  whereafter I began to loudly chastise him for carelessly throwing away items of sentimental value, his "Dogs Playing Cards" tapestry being among them.

"You didn't even realize you'd thrown your tapestry away, did you?"  I inquired, the stress of closing on a new home and packing for the move no doubt exacerbating the intensity of accusation.

"Nope." Was Ken's  succinct reply, which probably stoked the fires of my intensity all the more.

Meanwhile in the background I hear Ken's co-workers laughing their a**** off.  The thought of Ken being chastised by his wife for throwing his old bachelor tapestry of "Dogs Playing Cards"  was just hysterical to them.  Apparently one guy even fell completely out of his chair he was laughing so hard.  What can I say, apparently "[I am] not your typical wife?"  I'll take that as a compliment.

In closing I am left wondering what even is the meaning behind this image of a bunch of dogs playing cards, anyway?  Maybe that's the whole appeal from the simple male perspective, the fact that there isn't any meaning to be found in this well-known image. It's just a couple of 'guys' having a good time, nothing more, nothing less.  So what was/is your most prized bachelor possession? Did your significant other let you keep it?  What if anything does that say about you both, individually, and about your relationship in general?  Well, here's to the Dogs Playing Cards ... Life in the moment, right? Because at the end of the day, that's all any of us are ever promised.

Tip of the iceberg ....


5/6/2019  Up next on my busy schedule:  Finding time to read the infamous "Mueller Report."  Have any of you read it yet???