Games People Play

Time to finally put an END to the current "Congressional Oversight" Abuses of POWER ....

It has come my attention that the Ghost of Christmas Past --i.e., Nancy Pelosi-- and her compatriots, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer --Ghosts of Present and Future (a.k.a., the Reaper) respectively-- have once again began to rattle their oversight chains.  [Where in Liberals' fantasy Trump would play the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge to these ghosts 'enlightened, visionary way thinking' ... wishful thinking indeed? For President Trump's actions defy their stereotyping time again and time again, but some people never learn??? Think the American people are starting to see through this whole charade, however.]  Yes, we need more Congressional oversight in the midst of our national crisis?  I think NOT.  While most of us are trying to work together in a concerted effort to fight off a global pandemic these antithetical leaders don't want to waste any opportunity to bring the President down.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for convening committees --ones we already have in place, standing committees in the U.S. Congress-- in the aftermath of our hopeful triumphant victory where Covid-19 is concerned ... Emphasis on AFTERMATH (i.e., once the dust settles and our lives begin to return to some sort of normal, albeit likely a new normal), where "lessons learned" would be evaluated and documented for use in preparedness for future wide-scale epidemics/pandemics.  However, to convene a 'special oversight commission', in the here and now, would sorely wreak of rank partisanship, not to mention the fact that it would serve to distract and take attention/focus away from the current crucial leadership efforts the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, his administration and advisers are taking, with aid of the CDC, NIH, FEMA, scientists, military, doctors, nurses, first-responders and everyone on the front-lines of our war against an unseen deadly pathogen, in a heroic effort to save hundreds of thousands of lives ... actual people, not merely numbers.  Simply put, such a partisan 'oversight' at this particular point in time would jeopardize the very lives the Ghosts of Christmas are claiming their newest commission would help to save ----with a rather weak case, I might add, both from a facts as well as a numbers perspective.  There is clearly no shortage of hypocrisy dripping from these ghostly chains?  Governance literally is a game to Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Chuck Schumer, where POWER is the ultimate PRIZE, and the lives and concerns of actual American citizens are merely tokens that enable them play yet another round.

Left: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Right: Adam Schiff

"The Ghastly Trio"

Looking back at the endless string of 'oversight' conducted at the behest of the ghostly trio one could rightly conclude that the U.S. Congress under their 'leadership' has willfully chosen to shirk all of the  other normal Congressional duties --much to the detriment of you and me, "We the People"-- in the hopes of undermining, and ultimately defeating their nemesis who is none other than the duly elected President of the United States.  This egregious behavior begs the question:  What will we, as citizens, choose to do about their **?%! blanked-up priorities?  I suggest drafting a widely-circulated citizen petition to have Nancy Pelosi and company censured by their respective Congressional chambers, and if the votes are there to even consider have them removed from office.  It's time to put ACCOUNTABILITY back on the table in a BIG way!  Because, I don't think --given previous election cycles and the fact that these Congressional members are still in office-- that we can rely on elections alone to save us from their ineptitude.  Then again, maybe a national petition might make a rather sizable dent in their re-election campaigns as well?

And speaking of accountability, I cannot help but wonder" will China be held accountable for hiding the fact that this virus was on the loose in their country for many months --maybe even up to an entire year-- and heading out from their country to INFECT the entire rest of THE WORLD???? And if the Chinese Government is to be held to account, in what ways will this accountability take form?  Ongoing travel restrictions, stricter permanent screening measures and mandatory quarantines for anyone entering the United States after having traveled within China from now on?

4/20/20  Seems relevant that I should take a moment in order to make a comment about the notion of POWER here, particularly with respect to our government and power.  There are basically two types of power:  1) the type of power that seeks to collect/gain power (e.g., in pursuit of an unwavering political ideology);  and 2) the type of power that seeks to give power back to the people.  And you have to be extremely diligent in your dissection of the end-objectives of politicians by carefully considering (discerning) their true motives.  This careful contemplation applies particularly to the words of politicians; for actions are often far easier to discern intent from, whereas words can far too often be misleading.  One should be wary of a power that promises to give the people something ("FREE"), but with a cost --often not readily discernible up front-- that requires surrendering basic rights and liberties.  This power appears benevolent at its surface, but upon deeper inspection it is in truth much darker at its core.   One should question a power that seeks to make people dependent upon government for their very existence.  On the other hand, a power that seeks to care for the people in their time of need, while simultaneously lighting the way to independence and true FREEDOM, thereby ultimately giving the power back to the people is a true beacon of LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS, thereby affording each of us the opportunity to evolve more deeply on a spiritual level by owning our own choices in this blink of an eye we call the journey of LIFE.

"Shut-up About Politics"???

"Shut-up About Politics", aside from what we should be doing in the midst of a pandemic, this is also a great song written by John Rich and performed by the Hosts of "The Five" television program.

From the moment I felt we were midst of a true pandemic, I've tried really hard to abstain from making many comments which might be construed as anything remotely relating to politics.  Why? Because in times of crisis we NEED --and should!!!--  be pulling together with respect to solutions, while necessarily distancing ourselves --with respect to a "six-foot personal space"-- from one another.  Yesterday, however, someone [a medical professional] emailed a copy of an Obama Administration "Pandemic Guide" --a whopping 69 pages of verbal fluff-- while wondering "where is our leader Biden in this time of crisis", speculating that the Trump Administration will likely 'kill us all' and concluding with "someone needs to light a FIRE!"  ... Um, I've got news for you, someone --China-- already 'lit the FIRE' and it's called Covid-19.

This email was the final straw for me w.r.t. to the need to abstain from politics!  Time for me to rant ... First off, this Obama Administration 'Pandemic Guide' kind of exemplifies everything that was wrong with the Obama Administration.  The Obama Administration was REALLY BIG on WORDS, soaring rhetoric and a virtual sea of verbiage --including reams of stiffling, job and ingenuity killing regulations.  The Obama Administration presided over a nearly of decade of time in which actual facts, longer term consequences and true accountability never really factored in the mix of day to day  business in Washington -- and even today we are still seeing remnants of this approach to business in Washington, largely on the part of hold-over Democrats [Example 1:  When the House of Representatives had nearly worked out a compromise deal between Democrats and Republicans for the Phase I Covid-19 rescue package, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, returned from San Francisco and derailed the entire process by throwing in a bunch of wholly unnecessary --as it relates directly to Covid-19 and getting a much needed rescue bill out to the people-- crap into the bill (i.e., 1) fuel carbon-emission standards for vehicles, 2) radical affirmative action quotas, 3) funding for the "Kennedy Performing Arts Center", and 4) even a proposal to ban identification requirements for upcoming Presidential Election).  Thankfully, even CNN called out Nancy on item #1, but her shenanigans delayed passage of this critical bill by another 3 full days.; Example 2:  Tweet from Hillary R. Clinton, stating "Well he wanted to be First?" on the day United States Numbers for positive Covid-19 cases exceeded China's 'reported numbers'.  What a callous remark?  These are more than mere numbers Madame Secretary, these are HUMAN LIVES!  This is the mark you will leave, during a time of national crisis, in the annals of History.]  Sadly, the Democratic presumptive nominee, Joe Biden, is the living proof that facts no longer matter in the Democratic Party, given the fact that former VP Biden is having trouble formulating a single --let alone a string of --coherent sentence(s) these days.  I suspect the latter is probably why we aren't seeing too much of this "fearless leader" at the present moment?

The truth is, we've never encountered the challenges of a true pandemic sweeping across our nation before.  You just can't even begin to conceive of every possible challenge in a mere 69 page 'pandemic guide'; that's just not realistically feasible.  Anyone capable of processing realistic, longer term consequences will concede this point.  Instead, what you need during a first-time-ever pandemic hitting your nation is someone who is capable of taking decisive, meaningful and TIMELY action.  You need someone willing to assemble the best panel of experts in their respective fields ( i.e., medical triage, epidemiology, immunology, economics, policy implementation, manufacturing, distribution, communications) ... Someone who is capable of taking in a myriad of diverse inputs/advice in order to formulate and implement both an immediate, as well as a longer term outline, plan for our nation.  But more importantly, you need someone capable of adjusting 'plans' as needed, on the fly, in order to accommodate constantly changing facts on the ground, across all 50 states and territories.  Trump may not always use 'the words' many would like, but I have to say I am truly thankful that we have a President of accountable ACTION in the White House right now!  The instant President Trump, along with his advisers, had an inkling we were likely facing a true pandemic Trump took the bold step to stop all incoming traffic/flights from China.  The Journal of Science , at the beginning of March, estimated that this single move alone --namely closing borders to incoming China travel-- probably reduced the likely death toll in our nation by a factor of 70%.  That is HUGE!

How did the mainstream media and those on the Left react to shutting down incoming traffic from China? Rather predictably, I am sad to say, with across the board cries of "racism" sounding throughout those hollow echo-chambers.  But Trump, being a man true to his principles did not budge; he held fast to his informed decision and kept the ban in place.  Because based on all of the facts and data presented to him by experts this was best course of action for our nation as whole.  That is what a true leader does!  A leader does what is RIGHT, based on facts and data, not what is POPULAR at any given moment.  Meanwhile, 'leaders' on the Left in New York City (i.e., Mayor Bill Deblazio, Council Members and City Public Health Officials .. specific names to follow!) were all urging people not to succumb to concerns about contracting a potentially deadly virus, lest they be willing converts to 'racist' tendencies.  Without any facts, they downplayed the risk of this particular strain of Corona virus, while repeatedly and openly encouraging people --and the video footage is still available; this is the kind of stuff that is downright dangerous and the words of these reckless politicians will live on in infamy-- to attend the ongoing parades in Chinatown, to plan to attend the Saint Patrick's Day Parade, to visit their local bars and restaurants and basically go about their daily routines as if life was completely normal. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was caught on video, likewise urging people to attend the festivities in Chinatown, San Francisco.  All anyone really needed to do was to [being sarcastic here] is to "wash their hands more."  Mayor Deblazio likened the coronavirus to common cold on one of the morning programs late January 2020.  The Medical Commissioner for New York City is on video record saying "The risk of residents contracting the virus is low; while our city's preparedness is very high" ... Yeah, tell that to Governor Cuomo, who was complaining about a lack of ventilators --a perceived upcoming need for more ventilators-- when he was found to have had 2,000 ventilators just sitting in a warehouse, unopened in boxes.  As a result of this complete lack of common sense and foresight, 50% of the number of Covid-19 cases in the United States are within the borders of New York State, with about 90% of those cases being attributed to New York City proper.  This is literally a case of 'political suicide', where politics of wanting to be perceived as being morally righteous in the moment winds up leading to the potential voluntary suicide of unwitting followers.

But the stupidity doesn't end there ... A member of the United States Congress, Democrat Thomas Massie, decided to take the opportunity to grandstand during the final House vote required to get a much needed, Phase I rescue/stimulus package out to the nation, thereby becoming the Benedict Arnold in the current war we are waging on the unseen Covid-19 virus.  Representative Massie invoked adherence to a procedural rule requiring a two-thirds quorum be present in the House of Representatives Chamber in order for the final vote to be official, basically over-riding all previous plans that would have allowed for members of the House of Representatives to safely video record/conference-in their votes.  This meant that Representatives who had returned home had to risk travel back to the Capitol in order to cast their vote.  Let no good crisis go to waste, right??!!??  We need to infect as many people as possible in order to cripple the Trump Administration and make them appear weak leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election in November, the lives and well-being of our citizens be damned.  Needless to say, when the dust settles the name, Thomas Massie, will live on in the annals of history, right along side the traitor Revolutionary war traitor Benedict Arnold.  Congratulations, Congressman!  You've truly made your mark!!

[Here in the greater Seattle area, in Washington State, my husband goes in for a routine injection at University of Washington hospital.  They actually told him this week "Do NOT wear a mask into the hospital because it scares the patients."  Can you believe that??!!?? Hospitals are the place you are most likely to encounter the virus and my husband falls into the high-risk category.  That they would demand my husband not wear a mask is completely ridiculous!  Moreover, to my way of thinking this request kind of negates all of the other precautions we are taking to keep him safe.  This is the epitome of STUPIDITY?!  Gotta love liberals and their 'moral' lack of reasoning ... but hey, at the end of the day "people won't be scared"?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Putting stupidity momentarily aside, we can progress onto outright fear-mongering.  Witness the mainstream media doing their part to stir the pot, in an effort to no doubt fan the flames of panic, ultimately hoping for outright hysteria I am assuming based on the words I hear issuing from various media pulpits, statement like "The Republicans want to kill our WWII veterans." ...  And the latest absurdity coming from what Greg Gutfeld likes to call "Morning Blow", a.k.a. "Morning Joe", telling viewers the time has come for people to start thinking about "do not resuscitate" orders?!  Really??... In times of crisis, insanity truly does rule?!? .... How hypocritical, given that the majority of mainstream media outlets --print and television alike-- started out comparing the Covid-19 virus to nothing more than another strain to influenza at the beginning of January 2020.  Whereafter, they quickly changed gears and began criticizing the President for 'not taking early decisive action' --Do you recall the whole shutting down incoming travel from China??? I'd call that decisive early action. But wait, the media criticized Trump for taking this action?  Will we let them get away with having it both ways????--  And now many in the mainstream media are calling for networks to stop broadcasting the Administration's daily Covid-19 briefings, "claiming these briefings are inaccurate and packed with 'misleading' information.  Translation:  "We don't like the fact that Trump is appearing Presidential, mustering resources, calming fears and offering timely, tangible solutions to real-world problems (i.e., The President's poll numbers for handling the Covid-19 situation are going UP, as are his overall approval numbers)." ... Maybe at long last, the good people of the United States will finally wake-up and realize that the mainstream media are no longer interested in reporting facts or news.  It's all about sensationalism, ratings and pushing the current left-wing narrative on any given issue.  In this environment, President Trump and those who support him will always be wrong and lacking in some way, even in a time of national crisis when we all should be pulling together in order to survive.  Luckily, the moral arc of the universe is long, but ultimately self-correcting?

            @BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

All the above being said, let not your heart be troubled because at the end of the day we can be thankful that the ADULTS are in charge during this pandemic crisis!! President Trump, a man of decisive action, is taking the balanced steps necessary to keep our country safe and viable, while constantly reassessing choices based on data and input from the experts he has surrounded himself with.  President Trump acted swiftly by issuing a ban on travel coming from China, following up with a ban on incoming travel from Europe once their numbers began to spike. Despite a slower than desirable roll-out in viable testing kits, President Trump is working with U.S.A. manufacturing experts (Boeing, Ford, GM, etc.) to re-tool up plants for making personal protection equipment and ventilators.  He removed barriers to allow local private labs and universities to conduct processing of Covid-19 tests.  President Trump has worked to get a take-at-home test developed that could then be dropped off at drive-thru sites, thereby reducing the amount of PPE needed at those sites.  Abbott Laboratories now has a 5-15 minute provider point-of-service test that give results immediately in a doctor's office.  Normally, a roll-out on a test like this takes 9-12 months and Trump's FDA made it happen in a mere number of weeks.  That is absollutely huge! [4/1/2020  As of this day America has now tested over a million people for Covid-19; that's more than any other country to date.  Moreover, we are processing 100,000 tests per day, which is also more than any other country per Alex Azar, Healthy and Human Services Department Head].  President Trump and his team have worked to stream-line FDA requirements so that available antivirals can be put to use against the Covid-19 virus and so that a vaccine, currently in Phase I clinical trials at University of Washington, might be available as early as Fall 2020.  Trump has called up the National Guard to assist in areas where they are needed to help distribute dispatched FEMA resources of food, medical equipment and PPE.  He's mobilized the Army Corps of Engineers to construct make-shift hospitals in New York in anticipation of accommodating over-flow of patients and he's deployed two of the Navy's medical ships: one to California and the other to New York City, the USS Comfort (see above phote).  President Trump has hammered out a Phase I rescue package to help keep families and small businesses afloat, while offering an initial life-line to larger corporations to help prevent mass layoffs.  Meanwhile the President and his team of advisers are looking ahead to Phase II and Phase III  stimulus plans.

President Trump is constantly reassessing/comparing the need to shutdown against what it will take to reopen our country, as well as assessing when it will be safe to do so and on what scale.  His task force, headed up by the capable and confidence-inspiring VP Mike Pence, has successfully coordinated with State Governors to assess needs --and initial funding for States was included in the Phase I rescue package, with subsequent funding to follow in future phases-- as well as to coordinate the implementation a 15-day shutdown/"stay at home order" for our entire nation in an attempt to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus so that our nation can reopen again.  This task force gives daily briefings and answers questions in order to keep a concerned public up to date and informed.  It is also my understanding that the Trump Administration has worked with Google in order to develop a software app capable of helping people assess whether they might have Covid-19 or have been exposed; app then gives advice about when to seek testing and/or treatment, with included resources by area/location.  Each of the above steps is an important, effective piece to a holistic crisis management in the face of a heretofore never before seen pandemic striking at the very heart of our nation ... And quite frankly, I whole-hardheartedly applaud the Trump Administration for their handling of this national crisis thus far!!  ... Okay, rant over:  Over and out.

4/1/2020  Updates:

o   As of this day America has now tested over a million people for Covid-19; that's more than any other country to date.  Moreover, we are processing 100,000 tests per day, which is also more than any other country per Alex Azar, Healthy and Human Services Department Head.

o President Trump wondered why were throwing away so many masks.  "Couldn't they be sanitized and reused?"  He wondered and wouldn't you know if a company in Ohio had such a product, it just needed help getting through the FDA approval process.  Now that this sanitizing device, from company Batel (spelling?) has made it thru FDA approval, each unit is capable of sanitizing 120,000 masks per day, with each mask having a reuse life of 20 cycles.

o As of today 8,130 ventilators have been deployed, with more deployments set for next 48 hours (i.e., 400 to Michigan, 300 New Jersey, 150 Illinois, 150 Louisiana).  And private manufacturers are working around the clock to produce even more.  Ford in cooperation with GE Medical is presently working to deliver 50,000 ventilators.  President Trump stated in press briefing that any excess of ventilators would be shipped over to hard-hit countries like Itally, Spain and France.

o As of today 11.6 million N95 respirators have been deployed along with:  26 surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 5.4 million surgical gowns, 22 million pairs of gloves.  President stated that any of our excess would be again be shipped over to help out other countries in need (as specified above).

o 30 million doses of hydrochloroquine have been acquired from manufacturer Santos (sp?), 1 million doses of chloroquine were donated by Bayer, 6 million doses of hydrocholorquine were donated to hospitals by Tepa (sp?) Pharmaceuticals.

o The Army Corps of Engineers constructed a 2,500 bed hospital at the Javits Center, in New York City.  This hospital went up in a record number of only 3 days and it is now ready to begin receiving over-flow patients.  The government by way of the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA has contructed over 18 hospitals across the nation, along with countless make-shift medical centers, to meet the growing demand for hospital beds --for both regular overflow as well as Covid-19 patients.

o USS Comfort Navy Hospital Shop sailed into New York Harbor on March 30th.  This ship is equipped with 12 surgical suites and 1,000 beds that can accommodate non-Covid-19 patients.  USS Mercy has been deployed to the West Coast, docking in San Francisco, I believe.  Read more here .

o New analytic data-modeling has indicated peak of virus will hit 4/15/2020 and that in order to "flatten the curve" the Presidential Shut-down will need to remain in effect until April 30, 2020.  This extension is predicted to save over a million American lives (actual charts/images to follow)!

o Currently in the works is a test to determine if a person has Covid-19 antibodies in their system  --meaning the person with these antibodies present in their blood would be immune from contracting the virus in the (near/TBD) future.  This test will help determine those among us who are safe from contracting Covid-19, where these individuals would then be among the first to begin unshuttering our nation, as we strive for a return to a new normal.  Apparently the Mayo Clinic already has this test available and they are capable of processing up to 1,000 tests per day -- with the current focus being on front-line healthcare workers to help give them piece of mind.

o 10 different therapuetics are currently in clinical trials.  A second type of vaccine is now being tested, also in Washington State, where remarkably the curve has begun to flatten and come back down.

o Use of "convalescent plasma" is currently being evaluated, where antibodies found in the plasma portion of blood from recovered patients would be transferred to patients with Covid-19 in order to jump-start their recovery.

o  4/01/2020FINALLY!  CDC, NIH and Surgeon General all recommend wearing a face-covering when out in public.

o 4/25/2020  CDC added 6 new symptoms to the list for Covid-19;  DHS released lab data as to the effect of sunlight and humidity on the Covid-19 virus, very promising news for warmer weather on its way!;  DHS also released impact of common disinfectants on Covid-19, check out their website for further details.

Dreams of Red Dragons ......

Well, when I do sleep I often have vivid dreams ...

Image Source

In last night's dream, I dreamed that China did not engineer the Covid-19 virus in a lab.  Rather, they noticed its isolated, albeit virulent appearance within the general population awhile back and they sampled it for further study.  Eventually, they came to the conclusion that this virus could be utilized to their country's advantage and they set to work on developing a vaccine for the virus.  This is what they were working on in the lab in Wuhan province.  Further, Wuhan was chosen to be the release site of the virus, specifically because those with conspiracy lines of thinking would look for signs of engineering in the virus and when they found none, China would be conveniently removed from possible suspicion where the origins of Covid-19 were concerned.  Everyone would just assume that this virus, like so many before it, simply arose from the exotic animal markets and that would be as far as anyone bothered to look.  When the virus was released into the general population, it was intentional, not accidental.  Prior to release key individuals, determined to be of essential value to the Chinese government were vaccinated (i.e., Xi JinPing, other government officials, etc.).  The release of the virus was meant to be two-fold:  1) virus would 'naturally' thin an aging,  unproductive segment of the Chinese population --especially when the 1 child policy, left so few working to provide for so many; 2) it would derail the economy of the country proving to be the main obstacle to Chinese economic world domination, namely the USA.  Side benefits would also include tanking the U.S. Economy just prior to President Donald J. Trumps re-election bid; thereby weakening him and decreasing the likelihood that this thorn in China's side would survive to serve another term.

So in my dream China, after a successful population thinning and with the intended vaccinated survivors, appeared to have suddenly --and rather miraculously-- somehow have gotten a handle on the virus.  Their factories reopened, with supply chains subsequently coming back online and the Chinese economy roared back to life like a fiery Red Dragon, while the rest of the world --particularly the U.S.A.-- sputtered to a halt.

It's just a Dream though ........

Maybe the reason Chuck, Nancy and number prominent liberals are so happy --i.e., not at all worried-- is that they have each received the vaccination for Covid-19?  After all, China would need key individuals in place within the United States in order to return the USA back to the ways-of-old for conducting business, trade, the economy, etc. .... practices which weakened the USA while strengthening China, while conveniently lining the pockets of compliant politicians, media companies, sports and entertainment franchises and the like.


4/27/2020  I dreamed last night that Xi JinPing, President of China, was brought before the International Court in the Hague to answer for his part in unleashing a pandemic upon the world and then lying about it, costing countless lives due lack of any forewarning that the novel-coronavirus was on its way to sweeping across the entire globe.

9/20  Evidence has surfaced within past few days that the China-virus (a.k.a. Covid-19) does indeed have tell-tale signs of "cut-sites", which are places that viral RNA is edited in order to engineer a virus with specific traits (e.g., target humans, target t-cells --which the elderly have in short supply, due to detioration of the thymus as we age).  So this virus did indeed come from a lab after all.  This prompts my next thought, that if China is not held to TIMELY account for unleashing this virus upon the world and if there are no profoundly negative repurcussions for China, then what is to stop them from doing such a thing again in the future?  And with much greater leathality in targeting particular ethnic groups? Swift action need to be taken here!!!!

Crisis Either Brings out the Best in Us, Mankind, or the Worst ...

Crisis Either Brings out the Best in Us/Mankind or the Worst ... Which side of the coin will you choose to represent???  Bring out the BEST or the WORST???

We are living up in Washington State for the time being... Our state, Washington State, has been practicing isolation/social distancing for going on 2+ weeks now.  Our schools K-12 and institutions of higher learning have all shutdown, with a transition to learning on-line only for the foreseeable future.  Restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues (e.g., movie theaters and malls) have shutdown completely.  It's a ghost-town out there, a precursor to what you'd likely see in a post-apocalyptic world if you were to fast-forward ... The movie "I am Legend", with Will Smith springs readily into my mind.  Thankfully, some restaurants are still processing/delivering takeout options for the time being --who knows how long that will be allowed to last?-- and larger grocery chains and pharmacies have been allowed to remain open as well.  I still see/hear children giggling, playing and running about the neighborhood in small groups.  The other day as I sat out in our backyard soaking up the glorious rays of sunshine on the first day of Spring 2020 --and Spring came really early this year; first time in 124 years Spring has 'sprung' this early!  I take that as a good omen for weathering our current pandemic storm--  our neighbors' elder daughter (5 years old) was teaching her younger sister (3 years old) how to sing the "ABC" song.  It was so adorable, not to mention uplifting!  Kids are so remarkably resilient.  We adults would do well to take our present cues from them ... life in the moment, right? It's happening right now ....

Latest news on this pandemic is not overall great?  Bottom line, this is serious stuff people!  Sorry, I am the one to offer a sober, embracing reality-check.  For now, you'll have to look for the shiny, happy, uplifting post elsewhere -- I hear a lot of talented musicians are posting free on-line concerts and my eldest swears by "Paint with Bob Ross" on YouTube.  Getting right down to business, first off:  As I mentioned in my previous post, I am concerned about long term damage to the lungs of those who contract the Covid-19 virus --at any age-- per the data seen by Mount Sinai doctors in a review of patient data from China for those had contracted the Covid-19 virus.  This potential risk of longer term lung damage has yet to be adequately addressed --confirmed or denied by health officials her in the United States-- or conveyed to the public at large; this concerns me greatly.  Perhaps health officials are hoping to avoid outright panic by not addressing this particular aspect of the disease at this particular moment in time??? The reasoning being, let's get through this storm and we'll deal with longer term consequences later? Hence the delay in disseminating additional facts about how this virus actually affects people???

Secondly, more recent data out of Europe suggests this strain of Corona virus we are presently experiencing may also have longer term negative impacts on the hearts of patients who contract Covid-19.  So it's not just the potential for longer term negative impacts on the lungs of patients who contract Covid-19, now the virus may weaken/damage the heart of these patients as well (will discuss this further below**)? Finally, in recent days with wider spread of testing for the virus throughout the United States, they are "now seeing that an approximate 13% of cases testing Positive for the virus are asymptomatic" [According to the Director of the CDC, Dr. Anthony Fauci].  This means these asymptomatic Positive Covid-19 individuals are now carriers of the virus, but they are not exhibiting any of the symptoms associated with the virus (i.e., no fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, fatigue, etc.).   As such these asymptomatic people --in the absence of testing-- are not even aware they have the Covid-19 virus and more importantly that they can spread the virus to others.  And these are just the asymptomatic people who have been tested --likely because of suspected exposure to Covid-19; who knows how many others who have not been tested are running around out there???

The fact that asymptomatic Positive Covid-19 individuals are out there --most likely not even aware that they have been infected with the virus-- means that people who assume they are perfectly healthy can be out and about, in public places, while actively spreading the virus to others.  This dramatically increases the risk of community spread, despite our current ramped up efforts to contain the spread of the virus (i.e., "social distancing" and in some states "stay at home" orders), thereby further endangering the particularly vulnerable among us ... our elder parents, grandparents and anyone with underlying lung, hearts or weakened immune systems.  Given the likelihood that any one of us can be carriers of Covid-19 virus -- i.e., Positive, but asymptomatic-- We ALL Have a  civic DUTY to stay at home in order too help our local communities, States and the nation at large to get a handle on community spread of Covid-19, which has gone rampant in places like New York State.  The above means that just because you, as an individual  don't seem to have the virus and/or are "not afraid of contracting the virus" because you are "young and healthy" --and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this from gen-Z individuals--  doesn't mean that you cannot be a carrier for spreading the disease throughout your community! You may feel perfectly healthy and invincible ... You may not have loved ones who fall into a high risk category, but someone you encounter in public probably does. And your, self-serving and quite frankly reckless behavior of continuing to go out into public for non-essential reasons puts the loved ones of others at risk should they contract the virus from you and then bring it back 'home' to expose loved one(s) in the home.  And be forewarned, more recent data out of France suggests that Millennials are being hard hit with longer term lung and heart complications as a direct result of having contracted Covid-19 virus.

Bottom-line, those of you who choose not to follow the directions of State Governors to stay at home and practice "social distancing", opting selfishly to be out and about for non-essential reasons --where essential reasons include going to the grocery store/pharmacy-- are basically completely negating the sacrifices of all of the  rest of us, who are staying at home, are making.  If we can slow the spread of the disease, we buy ourselves valuable time within which to bring anti-viral treatments and ultimately a vaccine online.  Moreover, if we can "flatten the curve" --basically, contain the spread-- of the disease we can get our nation open and back up and running once again!

As Kevin Bacon has posted on Social Media with his #IamStayingHomefor campaign--based on his infamous 'six-degrees of separation'-- now is the time for all good men and women to think beyond themselves, to think of our nation as an integrated whole and STAY HOME!  If we all do our part, we WILL get a handle on this deadly contagion.

Okay, BAD news out the way ... onto good news!  Usage of the drug prescription (ONLY!) drug Hydroxychloroquine --developed in the 1930's as a treatment for Malaria-- in patients, in both China and France, appears to have shown significant impact on reducing both the symptoms of Covid-19 virus as well as the duration of the Covid-19 virus (i.e., this drug reduced inflammatory symptoms that would lead to further lung complications (e.g., pneumonia), while also attacking the virus itself to prevent further replication and spread within the body).  This drug has been around for awhile, it is relatively in expensive to produce and for the moment widely available.  While not yet 'FDA approved', doctors in the U.S. can prescribe this drug to their patients should they choose to do so.  This anti-viral treatment option should help to significantly reduce the number of deaths we are seeing from Covid-19 if employed on a larger scale, with the following caveat:  One of the detrimental side effects of Hydroxychloroquine is a negative impact on the heart.  According to Dr. Orlov, of St. Elizabeth Hospital in New York** --courtesy of TV show the "Ingram Angle"-- more recent data on Covid-19 virus seems to be indicating the possibility of longer term lung and now heart disease complications in patients who contract the virus at any age.  But according to Dr. Orlov, these risks associated with heart complications can be monitored and mitigated with proper treatment.

So perhaps you now know a bit more about this pandemic Covid-19 virus?  Because we are All in this together, hopefully YOU are willing to do your part to help us weather this storm, so we can emerge victorious together!!! With the ideal longer term, ideal outcome being a widely available and viable vaccine for Covid-19 --and clinical trials for a vaccine developed at a biotech lab out of Cambridge, MA began at University of Washington Medical Center about a week ago ... Meanwhile Biotech firms in Canada and Israel think they are onto a vaccine as well.  So bottom line:  1) Stay at home and stay healthy!; 2) Use good hygiene practices being put forth by CDC and NIH links: CDC Covid-19 and NIH Covid-19 ; 3) Disinfect common surfaces regularly; 4) Use this time to reconnect with people --i.e., people living in  your home or via Face-time, Skype, etc.-- and the things that truly matter -- i.e., read an actual book or listen to one, learn a new language, pick up an instrument, paint or draw, create something =)))); 5) Send out good intentions/prayers for those working on the front lines of this epidemic, our vital Healthcare workers and those working to keeping our supply lines going (truckers, warehouse workers, deliver personnel): All of the above are the true HEROES of the day!  ... Maybe if you can do so safely, consider making a donation to your local Food Bank or perhaps an on-line monetary donation? Be SAFE and Be well!!


[Will revise/post my personal tips for staying healthy soon ...  1) Increase Vitamin C to 4,000 mg daily (spread this dose out over the course of an entire day, not all at once!; 2) Qi Gong for immune system and/or meditation and other movement [will try to post some video links soon Immune Boosting Qi Gong  VIP Note:  During this Covid-19 outbreak, I would OMIT the coughing part of this video!!!  Breathing out the 'Bad' is more than sufficient for this exercise. ] ... movement is critical to engage and drain our lymphatic system, as well as to remove toxins/metabolic wastes from muscle/other body tissues into the lymph system.  Meditation also helps to reduce stress, which in turn improves immune function; 3) Get plenty of sleep!  Our bodies heal and repair while we sleep, courtesy of our Liver which releases HgH --only when we sleep-- and is also a key player in immune function.  4) Burn incense with antiviral properties to help disinfect household surfaces and purify the air (e.g., Frankincense, Temple Blend, etc.) 1-3x a day.  Note: Some say, putting 1/4 cup of household vinegar into a large pan of steaming water on the stove top also serves to disinfect surfaces, but be warned it is rather harsh smell to breath and can irritate sensitive eyes.  5) Gargle each evening with a warm salt-water rinse to kill germs in the mouth and throat.  When I have a sore throat I gargle with a mix of 8 oz. of water, 1 rounded teaspoon of table salt/sea salt and 2-3 drops of Tea Tree Oil --Warning: not for small children and DO NOT SWALLOW!!!  Mix the batch up once and store in a jar, with a lid at room temperature, not in direct sunlight, for later use.  Shake well before reusing];  6) Diffuse essential oils with anti-viral properties; 7) Massage the webs in between each of your fingers several times a day.  No joke!  The webs in between the fingers are energetic points, intimately integrated with our immune systems, courtesy of our embryological development.  Kind of interesting when you stop and think about the origins of folded hands in praying, right?!]

Other Tips I heard on TV today.  All of the following items can carry the Covid-19 virus:

o remove shoes outside the home to avoid tracking virus inside
o discard takeout boxes immediately
o disinfect grocery bags or discard single use bags immediately
o discard packing from UPS, Fedex and USPS immediately outside
o place mail inside clear plastic bag in direct sunlight to disinfect for 1-2 hours
o place coats and jackets in direct sunlight to help disinfect/and or wash every 2 days
o change clothes worn out in public when you get home and wash immediately or store in a closed container until washed


3/25/2020  !! Marijuana WARNING !!:  Interesting insight today from a doctor on television. This doctor pointed out that use of marijuana both 1) lowers the immune system response and 2) serves as a bronchiodilator --meaning it opens up the lungs.  This could be why teens and younger people, in their twenties and thirties, are being hard-hit in Europe?  Namely, pot lowers the ability of users' immune systems to fight off the Covid-19 virus, and once infected if the virus successfully spreads into the wide-open lungs the progression of the disease becomes much more severe and even deadly.

!! Ibuprofen WARNING !!:  Also heard that WHO issued a warning that taking OTC pain medications -- e.g., ibuprofen, Aleve (naproxen-sodium), aspirin ... but for some reason particularly ibuprofen-- can speed up the progression and worsen severity of the Covid-19 virus (i.e., moving into the lungs).  I have yet to fully to understand the mechanism here --may have something to do with interfering with/impairing  ability of lungs to move out toxins/metabolic wastes???-- but I would heed the warning just the same.  Apparently, however, taking Tylenol/acetaminophen is okay.

A Quick & Easy, Readily Available Way to Diagnose Covid-19 virus ....

I keep hearing on the news that officials are concerned by the "limited number of testing kits available for Covid-19."   I just read an article not three days ago indicating researchers at Mt. Sinai hospitals had examined CT-scans of over 100 patients with confirmed infections of the Covid-19 virus.  In patients who had the virus for greater that 3 days (i.e., 4-5 days and up) the lungs showed a clear accumulation of unique "glass-like" particle masses which appear to be unique to this corona strain of virus, while not being present in mere common flu strains.  With this in mind, I cannot help but wonder why CT-scans cannot be used to rule out Covid-19 in cases where symptoms have been present for greater than 3 days?  Use what you have, right????

Generic CT-scan of Lungs

CT-scans can provide a short-term solution to the lack of access to Covid-19 test kits, while also having the bonus benefit of providing immediate confirmation of positive test cases as opposed to having to wait for CDC to process and confirm results which currently takes days, not hours.

3/5/2020  Good news.  The CDC has made test kits for Covid-19 more widely available to states, local municipalities and major universities equipped with labs for processing the tests.  This will reduce the turn around time for reporting back test results to mere hours, which is a huge improvement.  Moreover, the wider availability of test kits will help to identify new cases more effectively, thereby potentially helping to reduce the spread of the virus.  The latter being said, I still hold that in places where test kits are not available a CT-scan is a viable method for identifying the virus.

I finally came across a useful piece of information, with respect to the ability of the virus to remain alive on a external surface (e.g., counter-tops, railings, doorknobs, keyboards, phones --maybe now is a good time for people to start regularly disinfecting their 'smart' phones?) ... Researchers are claiming that the Covid-19 virus can remain alive on a surface for up to 6 full hours.  To put this into perspective, it is my understanding that most common viruses (e.g., standard flues and other cold viruses) can only remain alive on a surface for about an hour.  The Aids virus can remain alive on a surface for up to 3 hours, while Hepatitis C can remain alive on surfaces for several days to weeks ... that is to say researchers are still not certain how long the Hepatitis C virus can remain alive on an external surface.  This piece of information would be very helpful to convey to the general public, so that they can plan accordingly w.r.t. touching potentially contaminated surfaces and the importance of routinely disinfecting common surfaces.  Update:  a) Covid-19 can survive on select (porous ... e.g., cardboard box and clothing, blankets) surfaces for up to 6 days.  Non-porous surfaces to a lesser extent, hours up to a day or two, depending on material type.  Now will this still 'alive', barely clinging to 'life' virus still be capable of infecting a host (i.e., you and me) after 6 days?  Probably not.  b) Were some initial reports that Covid-19 being a small particle form in respiratory droplets could survive in the air for up to three hours, hence the subsequent social distancing of 6+ feet and groups of no more than 10 people.

I have one last concern that has not been adequately addressed by CDC to date.  This concern centers around the "glass-like particle masses" that have been found in all individuals infected by Covid-19.  My question is this:  Do these particle masses resolve completely once a patient recovers or will these masses remain, potentially having irreversible, longer term impacts on the patient's lung health as is the case for patients who are exposed to the Tuberculosis virus?  The experts seem to be focusing exclusively on the fact that most healthy people who contract the virus will 'recover' --and not die from the virus itself, the virus most negatively impacting those with underlying health conditions (e.g., the elderly).  While helping to allay fears and stop outright panic from sweeping across the nation, the latter focus on 'recovery' rates does a disservice to people by diminishing the potential for longer term consequences of being exposed to this Covid-19 virus.  Having all of the facts allows individuals to make truly informed decisions about the risks --and a cavalier attitude on the part of some (e.g., Jesse Waters on Fox News)-- they are willing to take when risking exposure to this virus.  Specifically, given the risk --yet to be addressed by the CDC-- of irreversible, longer term consequences of contracting Covid-19 --i.e., permanent presence of these glass-like particle masses in the lungs-- people may choose to stay at home vs. risking exposure in large gathering scenarios (e.g., religious worship services, concerts, sporting events, travel, etc.).  The more you know ......

Out of Darkness, Light???

While trying to find some insight into the recent outbreak of the "deadly Coronavirus" from China --corona, from the Latin word for "crown",for this is the structure the virus appears take on when viewed beneath a microscope--  I wound up watching a documentary on the epidemiology of the infamous "Black Death" that ravaged Western Europe in the mid-fourteenth century.  After all, we are about due for our next pandemic??? ... Very informative documentary.  I now "know more than I ever wanted to know about the digestive process of fleas."  I also learned that plague epidemics on par with the "Black Plague" had actually struck earlier in the six-century, with the "Justinian Plaque", and then again later, in the mid-eighteenth century, with the "Asian Plague."   Where the latter epidemic finally led to the identification of the bacteria responsible for these plagues ghastly symptoms:  Yersinia Pestis (named after the French scientist, Alexandre Yersin --student of Louis Pasteur-- who was attributed with the detailed description/discovery of the bacteria, although Shibasaburo Kitasato --student of Robert Koch-- was first to identify the source).  I learned about zoonotic diseases and how Ebola and Aids viruses came into being.  But by far the most interesting thing I learned from this documentary is that 10-20% of people descended from survivors of the Western European "Black Death" (mid-fourteenth century) have a gene mutation, CCR5-delta 32, which makes these fortunate descendants immune to the Aids virus by preventing the virus from entering healthy cells.  The thinking here being that something other than the plague-driven bacteria from infected fleas biting humans was simultaneously causing the hemorrhagic fever version of the disease, likely a virus akin to something like smallpox ... also a zoonotic disease. This is the first time I have ever heard of such immunity, but I have always wondered about immunity where Aids is concerned.  Most intriguing is it not, that this immunity has its likely origins in the bi-product of one of the most horrific diseases to ever 'plague' mankind?

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Reminds me of the inter-transformation of Yin and Yang in the ongoing spiral of Life within our amazing universe .... I am so very grateful for the many scientists who dedicate their lives to unraveling these medical mysteries so that we might have a greater understanding with which to combat the spread of future diseases.  And, I heard, via news sources, that a pharma company working on an Ebola vaccination thinks they might be able to  use their research in order to come up with a vaccination for this latest deadly disease, the Coronavirus.  Myself, I am revisiting my essential oils in search of natural oils with extreme antiviral properties ... an ounce of prevention, right?

Time to Tackle Term Limits for U.S. Members of Congress?

Should Republicans manage to retake the House in 2020 --which I predict they will-- while retaining their majority in the Senate, I cannot help but wonder: Would this new congressional majority be BRAVE enough to tackle the subject of Term Limits for members of the United States Congress  (working on setting up an on-line petition)?

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How else can you effectively root out corruption and restore accountability to the U.S. Congress, given the abuses of power we've witnessed these past few months with the whole Impeachment Charade?

And what exactly would said term limits look like?  Limit of two terms served for a U.S. Senator and three for a U.S. Representative?  Any thoughts?  ... Would enough citizens be willing to step up to the plate in order to meet the increased demand/turnover in both the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years per single term) and the U.S. Senate (6 years per single term)?  Moreover, would this recurrent turnover infuse the United State Congress with a more bipartisan spirit, not to mention a plethora of new ideas?

This change would, however, require a Constitutional Convention and an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Is America up for change on such a grand scale, I wonder??? I know I am!

The Fastest Way to Destroy America ....

An American was killed on U.S. soil, by terrorists funded and orchestrated through Iran, a long and well-known sponsor of terror around the globe for the past several decades. The strike on our U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, on New Year’s Eve, was planned by Iran’s top General of the Iranian Military, Khasamin Soleimani , and executed by a pro-Iranian terrorist faction in Iraq. The protesters even scribbled on the wall of our embassy “Khasamin Soleimani is our leader.” Actually, it is rather brilliant of Iran to have one of its top military officials carrying out these attacks by proxy, because when America strikes back, meeting strength with strength --which history has shown is really the only thing the Iranian regime understands and respects-- Iran can claim that American has attacked the State of Iran proper. One would expect the latter response from the government of Iran, not so from members of the U.S. Government because the distinction in this case is absurd. Iranian military leader or not, General Soleimani  was executing the role of a terrorist, both from a financial as well as a logistical standpoint.

Given this brazen act of violence, perpetrated on American soil and resulting in the death of an American citizen, one would unequivocally expect Americans to be united in outrage and in support of our President when he determines a timely, proportional and measured course of action in response to a terrorist attack. This, unfortunately, much to the detriment of our Union, is not presently the case. How so? Because a substantial number of our top body of elected officials, the United States Congress .. the voice of “We the People”.. have chosen not only to outright dismiss support for the President in his counter action response --namely, the taking out of General Soleimani by drone strike-- but these same ‘geniuses’ go even further in the direction of counterproductive dis-unity by issuing a non-binding, non-standard (lacking procedural due diligence) resolution enumerating what is already explicitly stated in our U.S. Constitution, namely  that 1) “The President shall be the Commander and Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and of the Militia of the several States”, Article II, Section 2 of U.S. Constitution, while 2) The U.S. Congress shall retain the power to "declare [outright] war".  It should be noted that several congressional "Authorization(s) for Use of Military Force" have been issued to clarify the role/right of the President to carry out single strike military operations in defense of the nation in aftermath of 911, in the new age of terrorism, where all such authorizations are extensions of the 1973 "War Powers Act".  The latter all make the clear distinction that such strikes fall far short of outright war.

Now is the time to re-state the obvious? I think NOT! This congressional non-binding resolution does little to effect actual change with respect to the President’s authority to protect our nation where acts of terrorism are concerned, as stated above. The Constitution clearly states that only the U.S. Congress has the power to declare war --Article I, Section 8 of U.S. Constitution-- but President Trump’s actions were not designed to bring America into an actual war as the government of Iran and its supporters would have you believe [And if you look at President Trump’s actions to date, his actions speak of a President committed to bringing Americans back home and ending our decades long standing posture in the Middle East]. The President’s actions were instead a direct, timely, measured and proportional response --given the intelligence he had available to him at the time-- to an attack on Americans, with the added benefit of taking out a key orchestrator of future attacks on Americans, per information provided by our intelligence sources. What this most recent congressional non-binding resolution does achieve, however, is to make the United States of America look weak, disorganized and a far cry from united in the face an outright attack of Americans on American soil --for U.S. embassies around the globe are considered to actually be American soil.  This current non-binding congressional resolution serves as nothing more than a political slap on the hand of OUR President, in a ludicrous restatement of the obvious. How shameful?

Aside from whole impeachment charade, I have never been more disappointed in our United States Congress, particularly the Republican Congressmen from the 114th Congressional Session who crossed the aisle in order to vote with the Democrats on said ‘resolution’. The disservice these Congressmen do the sovereignty and unity of nation is beyond egregious. Our Founding Fathers would be aghast at what our nation has become these past few years since the election of President Donald J. Trump. Given the events since President Trump’s election, especially in light of these most recent events, I am left profoundly wondering if America is even capable of ever repairing the ever-widening chasms of our national divide? I mean if you cannot find unity in the face of an outright attack on the United States of America, when can you ever find true unity???????? The fastest way to destroy America is from within ......

New Hope for Treating Cancer

Not only a potentially revolutionary breakthrough in the treatment of cancer, but an incredibly less toxic treatment as well:  using salt nano-particles to attack cancer cells.  Read the article for yourself and then share with as many as possible, so this study does not get swept under the rug in favor of prevailing costly --on multiple levels-- pharmaceutical treatments.  Hopefully, this study will receive the funding and attention it needs to bring this option into the mainstream in the quickest timeline possible!  Click on the link below the image to be taken to the website to read the article.

CLICK Here to read article "Study Finds Salt Nanoparticles are toxic to Cancer Cells"

Happy Holidays!!

I have not sent Christmas cards in years!  I usually fight depression at this time of year, so getting cards out is a real challenge for me to begin with.  That being said, I keep friends and family in my ongoing thoughts and prayers and every once in awhile, I reach out to let them know I'm thinking of them and that I am still alive.  This year, however, it occurs to me that my lack of 'reaching out' means that those who may have tried to send me/my family cards probably did so unsuccessfully, as I have not yet sent out any change of address of cards?

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Well, it's the thought that counts, right?  Perhaps I will find it in me to send out a New Year's card, with the new address? In lieu of formal Christmas cards, for the time being, I'll just wish all who happen to pass this way a joy-filled Holiday celebration --however you choose to celebrate, a very Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc.-- and may your Blessings in the New Year of 2020 be overflowing!

Love to All!!!

~M

P.S.  I am thinking my next post will be some insight into the power of Internal Alchemy. ... And I received one of those 'happy lights' as a post-Christmas gift.  Have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but when I used the lamp consistently, the tablet-style lamp actually worked for me.  Cost has always been the main reason I've never tried this sort of lamp, but improved LED technologies have really bought costs, not to mention size and portability way down.  The lamp when used for 20-30 minutes (up to 60 minutes) per day also seems to help set and maintain circadian rhythm as well.  So bonus side-effect, this miracle little lamp seems to be helping with my chronic insomnia as well.  Go figure?  Beats Rx sleep aids for sure!

Protests in Iran: The Ultimate Cost of FREEDOM .....

A little over a month ago 1,000 Iranian protesters were killed by Iranian Security forces. Civilian protests, in Iran, have ramped up over the course of the past several months as sanctions on Iran, by the United States and other Western allies, have taken an ever-increasing toll on the civilian population.  A surprise hike in fuel prices sparked these most recent November 15th protests, for little of the funds given to Iran --several billion dollars in conjunction with the "Iran Deal" and 1.7 billion dollars in cash flown into Iran on pallets under the cover of night, both courtesy of the Obama Administration-- have filtered their way down to the actual people of Iran.  While I do recall seeing a brief news blip covering the unfathomable slaughter of so many Iranian protesters on one news channel --in a single newscast-- aside from that, I have not heard much else about this atrocity until today. Today, however, I see several recent news stories are now following up in the aftermath of this tragedy.

“Some 1,500 people were killed, most of them civilians, during a two-week period of violence last month, when residents of the Islamic Republic protested against the government in one of the largest public demonstrations since the country’s 1979 revolution, the Reuters news service reported Monday.”1

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I have been keeping these protesters in Iran in my ongoing thoughts and prayers. For a time, several years back, I had pen-pal in Iran. He was a student at the University of Tehran. I have not heard from him in in years, but I still keep he and his family in my thoughts and prayers. I recall his being hit in the head with a rubber bullet during a protest back then. He was subsequently hospitalized for several days with a concussion, during which time I did not hear from him and worried greatly for his safety and well-being. Fortunately, he recovered and was released to return to his ‘normal’ life. What seems to be different from these protests, aside from the high numbers of casualties, is the Iranian government’s response to these more recent protests ... “Since the protests began last month, international humanitarian organizations have accused Iran of using excessive violence against protesters. Last Friday, a group of independent UN rights experts said Iranian security forces were deliberately shooting to kill the unarmed protesters. The experts pointed to reports and footage showing Iranian security forces “not only fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters, but also aimed at their heads and vital organs ... Targeting these parts of the body shows that the security forces were aiming to kill or at least cause serious injury,” they [Independent U.N. sources] said, adding that they were “extremely disturbed that the Iranian authorities would use such tactics against peaceful protesters.” The UN experts said there appeared to be higher death tolls in areas with large ethnic minority populations.”1

Another disturbing fact is that an 7,000 additional civilians have reportedly been imprisoned, where they are now being tortured and denied medical treatment, including treatment of injuries suffered by Iranian forces shooting during demonstrations.

I have only the utmost admiration for these protesters who are willing to put everything on the line --even their very lives-- in order to stand up, with a united voice, to protest such extreme social and economic injustices at the hands of a brutal totalitarian regime.  As I ponder these events currently unfolding in Iran, I cannot help but wonder how differently these protests might turn out, especially where longer term reforms are concerned ... maybe even a change of government ... were these citizens afforded the right to keep and bear arms on a larger scale?  I mean, it would be a whole different ballgame if the citizens of Iran had access to real weapons with which to defend themselves and their rights to basic necessities, not to mention freedoms with regards to free speech and self-determination. Remember the architectural majesty, intellectual, scientific and artistic contributions made by the citizens of the Persian Empire?  Perhaps, if nothing else, these more recent protests in Iran --and moreover the Iranian government's response to them ... “When the unrest broke out in the middle of last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei instructed the country’s security forces to do whatever was necessary to quell the protests, several senior Iranian officials told the outlet, on condition of anonymity. “The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order,” Khamenei told his inner circle, one of the sources said." 1-- should serve as a timely reminder for how truly fortunate, we in America, are that our Founding Father’s fought so vehemently to ensure our civilian right to “keep and bear arms” in the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Sadly, I think we, here in America, tend to view issues like "gun control" (i.e., banning all guns) through a myopic media lens, in a knee-jerk response to tragedy in the moment, often failing to consider long-term consequences in favor of shorter, feel-good responses to isolated instances of gun violence. In light of what is currently happening in Iran, I think we would do well to step back and take in a wider perspective on the issue of gun control, considering for a moment that without the right to keep and bear arms, the America we know and love would not exist today (i.e., Revolutionary War contributions by dozens of civilian militia groups and also during War of 1812).  Moreover, just because we, in America, are free today does not mean tyrants will not try and succeed in taking control of our country in our future.  Witness recent events of 1) Congressional abuses of power and governmental overreach with respect to impeachment inquiries, with endless, unsubstantiated, lacking any tangible, fact-based evidence investigations into the Trump Administration; 2) Weaponizing of our intelligence agencies  to spy on a Presidential campaign;  3) Granting illegal immigrants driver's licenses (thereby enabling them with a vehicle to cast a vote in our Presidential Elections); 4) New York City fining citizens $250 and up for speech it "deems offensive"; 5) An ongoing widespread movement toward limiting Free Speech on our college campuses, which are supposed to be focal points for disseminating all thoughts and ideas, not just the ideas Academia (a.k.a. the Left) happens to agree to with.

Make no mistake it starts small, primarily by limiting our right to Free Speech --He who controls speech ultimately controls thought.  Then they endlessly divide the country with media driven mantras of identity politics, taking the focus off of the real issues facing "We the People" and the lack of any progress being made to date on said issues by our elected Congressional officials.  The final and perhaps most crucial step towards fundamentally reshaping America is the widespread dissemination of a cancerous group-think --which kind of reminds me of the tactics used by the Cultural Revolution in China-- by way of a fact omitting, highly biased, propaganda-driven news media and control of 'desired' content on social media platforms --although, I do have to give Facebook credit for not bowing to pressure to pull all political ads in the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential Election.  All too quickly, however, these little infringements upon our freedoms can take a scary turn for the worse!  And I think we have begun to make this turn over the course of the past year.  Actions such as a widespread movement to limit free speech in many public arenas, devaluing U.S. citizenship and rampant non-accountability to the U.S. Constitution and voters by our government officials --both elected (member of both chambers of U.S. Congress) and non-elected (CIA, FBI, United Nations --Samantha Powers--, etc.)-- all pave the way toward an ever-growing behemoth of permanent centralized government control over "We the People" by way of an ever-lingering bureaucracy (e.g., Department of State for life staffers, FBI and CIA career agents, etc.) and members of U.S. Congress who are not subject to term limits. Where in such a scenario an 'elite group' of individuals will ultimately determine nearly every aspect of our daily lives (i.e., how much our energy will cost, which types of energy we will continue to produce, what kind of car you can drive or even IF the every-man will even be allowed the privilege of owning a car anymore ... what our healthcare will look like across the board for everyone, where our jobs will go, who will be allowed to attend college).  I mean all you have to do is to listen to the hard left turns being taken among the Democratic Presidential Candidates during their debates on nearly every single issue of merit, chief among these being open borders, medicare for all and the decriminalization of hard-core narcotics ... this in the midst of a nation-wide opioid epidemic??

These 'elites', if they succeed in rigging the next election, will destroy America so that they can attain the power necessary to dictate nearly aspect of our daily lives ... They will do this if we do not wake up and seriously consider the future ramifications of current policies being proposed and enacted by the Left as they attempt to push us, step by step, towards a socialist America, killing one freedom and privilege after another until we no longer recognize our beloved America any longer.  I see now, that's why Donald J. Trump won the Presidency in 2016, people were tired of not being heard by their elected of official, they were tired of being lied to and dismissed by the people they voted into office when one campaign promise after another never came to fruition.  More importantly, Trump 2016 voters did not like where America was heading as nation, namely lawlessness and socialism.  I also believe that the reason the Left cannot stand a President Trump is because Trump is undoing everything the Left 'accomplished' during eight years of Democratic rule under President Obama's Administration.  We were pretty close to openly embracing socialism at the end of President Obama's term, because we were flat-out exhausted after eight years of lost jobs, stagnant wages, the decimation of our energy sector and rampant regulations that were driving entire industries and companies out of business, not to mention sending our jobs overseas.  Americans were getting to the point where we didn't think there was any other way forward for America aside from the 'promises of socialism'. President Trump, however, has shown us there IS another way forward, a way that does not require us to bow to the historically failed policies of socialism.

The Left's current push towards lawlessness and leniency for some under the guise of compassion, without any concern for long-term consequences (i.e., the return of plague-like diseases to major metropolitan areas as hundred of thousands of homeless people live amongst their own waste and excrement, and huge spikes in assaults and other crimes against law-abiding and tax-paying citizens; or long-term consequences of an open border policy with respect to illegal immigration), while pushing for an extreme level of intrusive control over the lives of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens (i.e., proposals to confiscate all citizen firearms; medicare for all, while eliminating millions of employer, choice-based healthcare plans; and proposed laws to ban fracking, oil drilling, gas powered vehicles, etc. under the guise of 'saving the planet', again without concern for long-term consequences or any apparent cognizance of present-day scientific/technological realities w.r.t. to where we at with alternative fuels and the large scale viability of 'green' energy sources and while simultaneously failing to address the elephant in the room: China, the world's largest carbon emissions polluter) is merely a veiled attempt to gain and retain power, plain and simple.  Unfortunately, all of the latter examples and the examples given in the two preceding paragraphs -- especially given the results of the 2016 election-- run completely counter to the true representative democracy and freedoms our Founding Fathers intended for us to have.  Freedom of speech, diversity of thought and policy differences are not the enemies of our democracy; they are its life-blood!  For in the process of a robust, fact-based debate the best ideas will rise to the top, and with good governance and a commitment to remain accountable to "We the People" these ideas will find their way into law.

Our Founding Fathers had a profound respect for a diversity of thought and the right of all citizens to express their thoughts and ideas, hence the 1st Amendment guarantee of Free Speech in the U.S. Constitution.  To my way of thinking, protections for freedom of speech and diversity of thought are in point of fact the very cornerstone of our U.S. Democracy, and they are the primary reason the Founders settled upon the notion of a limited Federal Government, leaving all remaining rights reserved to each individual State to determine on their own.  In order to back up this cornerstone right of the individual to "Freedom of Speech" (and thereby thought), the Founders included a supporting provision in the Constitution that would allow citizens the "right to keep and bear arms."  That is to say, that the 2nd Amendment is designed to reaffirm the First Amendment.  The Founders truly believed that this right, the "to keep and bear arms", is a crucial component to lend support to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  With this right to bear arms, American citizens will not find themselves helpless in the face of tyranny and corruption as we are presently witnessing with the citizens of Iran.  Our right to keep and bear arms ensures we will never again be ruled by “tyrants”(England of old), because if our government ever gets completely out of control --that is to say government is no longer accountable to "We the People"-- then we will have tangible means with which to remove them from office, by force if necessary.  How’s that for a serious embracing reality check???

May God Bless and keep the people of Iran, granting them the strength to persevere in seeking their truth in face of such extreme adversity, as they fight for basic necessities to ensure their survival.  With continued courage and  Hope, may they ultimately realize the freedom to make their own choices and to thrive in pursuit of their own version of life, liberty and happiness.

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 1 “Times of Israel, Daily Edition”  December 23, 2019



12/29/2019  I also find it highly ironic that the Left constantly emphasizes the importance of our diversity of color, gender identity and heritage as being the things we should most be concerned about when moving through our daily lives, while mocking our diversity of thought as if it is a plague to be eradicated and replaced with sanctioned group-think.  Diversity of color, gender identity and heritage are all things we are born into this world with and therefore we have little, if any, control over.  Our diversity of thought, however, is something that should be unique to each of us.  Moreover, our diversity of thought should be sacred, something that we actually have a say in controlling. 

Our Founding Fathers created America as melting pot, where people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities could come together in a sharing expression of ideas in order to create a new and wonderful country where each individual has the right to purse his own version of Life, Liberty and Happiness, so long as she/he does not interfere with the rights of others.  But in order for this idea of America to work, we need to stop crying "racism!", "sexism!", "xenophobia!" every single time we have a disagreement on issues of policy.  These rants are for the most part convenient diversions designed to deflect from meaningful debate on substantive issues that affect all Americans.  We need think of ourselves first and foremost as Americans, all working together for the common good of our nation.  United we shall rise to unimaginable heights, but ever divided we will remain weak, distracted and subject to manipulation from both without and within.

[I apologize for multiple edits!  Migraines have ramped up again ... Harder to think and write, but I wanted to take some time to write while I had a bit of free time.  Best to Everyone!!]


1/20/2019  It was so very refreshing to witness many thousands of Americans --from diverse ethnic, cultural, gender and age backgrounds-- all unite around the Virginia State Capitol on this Monday, in support of our 2nd Amendment, constitutionally guaranteed "right to bear arms."  The rally, despite media hype and hopes that the rally would quickly go sideways, descending into chaos and violence, ended peacefully in the mid-afternoon without incident.  With most of the crowd cheering reaffirming chants of "USA!" ... a message of Hope for continued prosperity and unity in pursuit of the once elusive "American Dream." ... Finally, we have a stepping-off point for finding some form of unity within our terribly divided nation???  Thank you Governor Northam!  Thank you, misguided media ...

Impeachment Articles are an Absolute Insult to the Intelligence of the American People

I have to say, the two Articles of Impeachment coming out of the 'House Impeachment Inquiry' are an absolute insult to the intelligence of the American People!  I mean come on, these articles do not even contain the alleged initial crime which was supposed to have granted Democrats some semblance of legitimacy for launching an 'impeachment inquiry' in the first place, namely that the "President engaged in a quid pro quo with the newly elected President of Ukraine by withholding monetary aid in exchange for ???" ... in exchange for something, or so the Democrats claim.  Think their prevailing argument centered something around their claim 'President Trump wanted the Ukrainians to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in order to aid Trump in defeating a potential opponent in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election', which is a Big SPIN in my humble opinion and a SPIN for which the Democrats have failed miserably to make any fact-based case for during their blatantly partisan inquiry.

When the Democrats realized the verbiage "quid pro quo" was not resonating with "We the People" --because most people do not understand what quid pro quo means?-- they focus group tested for a new catch-phrase allegation, settling mid-inquiry upon the words "Bribery" instead as the alleged criminal basis for proceeding with the gravest of congressional actions: impeachment of a sitting President of the United States.  The whole thing would actually be rather hilarious, were it were not so incredibly sad!  The House inquiry wound up being a partisan witch-hunt conducted largely behind closed doors, without the benefit of allowing the minority side (Republicans) to call any witnesses and to a large extent with severely limited opportunities for Republicans to truly engage in meaningful questioning of the 'witnesses' called by the Democrats.  At the end of the day the Democrats utterly failed to produce one single witnesses with factual evidence that the President engaged in an actual crime.  That is so very profound, especially where the extreme measure of impeaching a duely elected President is concerned.  Every witness call by the Democrates offered volumes of feelings, conjecture, speculation and opinion, but no actual facts were ever brought to bear in their hearings.  Hence, the subsequent absence of the crimes of "Bribery" or even the original "Quid Pro Quo" in the final "Articles of Impeachment."

The whole process was particularly painful to watch as the Democrats strong-armed the inquiry process in a marked deviation from historical precedence, repeatedly mocking the President for his failure to legitimize their proceedings, yet again (i.e., Mueller probe) with his presence.  President Trump's refusal to partake in the Democrat's partisan inquiry was, quite frankly, just common sense on the part of the President for his participation would have lent credulity to these sham proceedings.  By not showing up to participate, the President  most certainly avoided a perjury trap ... especially given the fact the President had already released the transcript of the alleged 'criminal phone call' in its entirety, with both he and the President of Ukraine giving statements that their was in point of fact "no quid pro quo" or bribery.  President Trump merely wanted to verify that should he give monetary aid to Ukraine that it would not be funneled off by heretofore corrupt political operatives, or even worse yet used to interfere in the upcoming 2020 election, as the "Steele Dossier" had done in the 2016 election to the benefit of the Hillary Clinton Campaign.  The Ukrainian President was not even aware that the release of monetary aid had been momentarily delayed while the administration ensured that Ukraine was on target to "pay their fair share into the United Nations" --per White House sources.  The fact that the Democrats were citing a delay of aid for a ~whopping fifty-five days~  as "a threat to our country's national security" is really rich, given the fact that the previous administration never released a single dime of monetary aid --only ever sending blankets and MRI meals--to Ukraine to help them protect themselves militarily from blatant Russian aggression in the aftermath of Russia's seizing the port city of Crimea. 

Aside from the dripping hypocrisy of apparently "prayerful" and solemn Democrats grandstanding in front media microphones at every opportunity with claims that "our Constitution is at stake", "our Democracy is at stake" and near the end Nancy Pelosi even went so far as to claim at a townhall that "civilization as we know it is at stake", the pinnacle of hypocrisy had to be Adam Schiff and the revelation his staff --and possibly he, himself ... but we will never know this unless Adam Schiff himself is called to testify-- had contact with the alleged whistle-blower prior to said whistle-blower filing their complaint with the IG. Adam Schiff then failed to recuse himself from the proceeding in light of this revelation.  Moreover Schiff subsequently refused to allow Republicans to question the whistle-blower behind closed doors to get to the bottom  of Schiff's involvement with the whistle-blower and possible collusion to impeachment the President of the United States.  That's some pretty serious criminal, conspiratorial stuff if you ask me!!?!!

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The conclusion of the proceedings, with supposed 'unbiased' constitutional legal scholars lecturing "We the People" as to the validity of the Democrats plan to move forward with the drafting of formal "Articles of Impeachment" --which would be subsequently voted upon by a full vote held on U.S. Congress House Floor, despite !the absence of any fact-based crime!---  was completely ridiculous!  The only constitutional legal scholar who made any truly unbiased, brilliant conclusions was the Democrat lawyer, Johnathan Turley.  Turley stated during the closing remarks of the panel --as he was the very last scholar to testify-- that even though he was a Democrat, one who did not vote for President Trump and frequently disapproved of Trump's rhetoric, that he found no constitutional basis for moving forward with impeachment.  Furthermore, Turley concluded that only the U.S. Congress members responsible for conducting this sorely wanting and clearly biased impeachment inquiry were the ones guilty of "an abuse of power" ...  And therein lies the crux of the matter.  This blatantly biased, partisan driven, non-evidence based, lacking any formal criminal charge impeachment on the part of Democrat members of the U.S. Congress is in actuality the very "interference in the 2020 Presidential Election" the Democrats are claiming to avoid by pursuing impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.  Surely, the bell of hypocrisy cannot sound any louder or resonate any clearer than this? Yes our democracy is indeed at stake, but the true threat is posed by elected members of the U.S. Congress who are willingly abusing their power, while simultaneously ignoring the will of "We of People" and doing very little to see our truly meaningful needs  (e.g. healthcare, Rx drug costs, trade negotiations, education, border security, etc.) that we put them into office for in the first place.

But if at first you don't succeed (i.e., Removing President Trump from office or at the very least tarnishing his brand in the eyes of millions of American voters), then you must try, try again ... And as I write this, I bear witness to yet another attempt by the Left to RIG the upcoming election by  granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants in the States of New York and New Jersey ... Gee, how many of said recipients do you suppose will be able to use this timely form of identification in order to vote in the upcoming 2020 election?  There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country to date --and that count is very likely a low estimate, some estimates are as high as 21 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.A.  11 million votes could surely go a long way towards swaying an election, don't you think?  I'm not just speculating here, there is evidence that an estimated 55,000 illegal immigrants voted in previous Presidential Elections in the state of Texas, and that's just the one state I happen to know about, surely there are other similar cases across the country.  In closing, I am left wondering what can be done to prevent the voting of illegal immigrants in our elections, particularly Presidential ones?  Will anyone truly be checking the voting roles for verified citizenship?  Can the Federal Government do anything meaningful --not to mention timely!-- to protect the sanctity of our constitutional right to vote??? Timing is, after all, everything ......

In light of all of the above, I truly believe we are witnessing the implosion of one of America's longstanding political parties ... Perhaps something better, a party that genuinely returns to its roots of truly serving "We [all] the People" will arise from the ashes?