Positve Action Unites a Nation ....

Positve action unites a nation, if only for a few hours ... It's a much needed start! I have to say witnessing the power of positive action in the "2020 Prayer March" on our nation's capitol this past weekend was truly transformative!  This march was the antithesis to the destruction, violence, intmidation and looting presently being unleashed upon our major city streets every night across the nation.  These people, our fellow citizens from every walk of life, race, creed and color came together in prayer for a day in order to lift up our nation during a time of great division.  The presence of these 50,000+ people, from all corners of our nation shone brightly like beacon of Hope and Unity, in a time of great trial and darkness for our nation as we struggle with the chilling effects of the China-pandemic - -with respect to health concerns, social isolation/depression/rioiting and widespread economic loss and financial hardships. 

What amazed me the most was when Rev. Franklin Graham called for everyone in the crowd --and at home-- to take a moment to pray out loud for our nation and its leaders during this time of trial.  And everyone in that enormous crowd did just that. Each one prayed in her own way, with her own unique words, combining together to create an uplifted and unified voice of much needed HOPE.  This really struck a chord for me, that despite our differences in religious faiths and spiritual beliefs, we can still unite our voices in prayer to accomplish great things!  That is so truly powerful and something that can be so easily overlooked in our modern world, where everyone seems to be obsessed with labeling everyone according to pre-ordained identy groups, thereby 'safely' pigeon-holing everyone.  The necessary outcome of this identity grouping and pigeon-holing is inevitable judgment and subsequently division and that is most assuredly a lose-lose scenario for our nation.

So many of the prayers offered up during this powerful prayer march of ACTION were beyond inspiring, but the closing words of Vice President, Mike Pence spoke the loudest to me.  The Vice President concluded his own prayer with these final words "... And when you pray, pray with confidence."  Prayer has always been such a huge part of my life, as I have from a very young age prayed with earnest and devotion for the sick and dying.  But I have to admit, with my own father's recent passing, I had begun to lose my confidence in prayer.  In part because my father was so healthy for the majority of life and because he had decided to fight his cancer ... because he was doing so well post-chemo and radiation, even post surgery.  Then suddenly out of nowhere, he took an immediate turn for the worse and suddenly, he was just gone.  These words from the Vice President, to me, were a much needed and timely reminder not to lose my own faith in the amazing power of prayer, and moreover, that I should once agian begin praying with confidence.

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You can watch a video of this unifying event here:  2020 Prayer March, with Franklin Graham

To CODE or not to Code?

That is the question ..... My husband suggests writing future posts in code, both to challenge readers as well as to thwart search engines from labelling posts with political content as being 'undesirable.'  Would also help me to shorten my message and stay on point, right?  Anyone up for the challenge?

Well if you happen to be interested in the history of cryptography here is an excellent, easy to read and comprehend book on the subject matter.  I highly recommend it!  The Code Book, By Simon Singh

An Abraham Lincoln Moment

[Well, overworked engineering minds cannot SPELL!  Re-edited and spell-checked, now reposted.] 

Trump's speech given at the National Archives today will surely go down as a seminal moment in our nation's history. Maybe the momentous nature of this occasion will not be marked today, likely not even tomorrow --given the fact our media and social media is currently controlled by the progressively radical left -- but undoubtedly, in the future, when historians look back at this moment in time they will remark upon this historic moment of recognition in definitively naming the poison that threatens our very American way of life by fueling the ever-widening chasms of our national divide.  For we presently find our nation sprinting down a clear fork in the road, headed toward socialism as the "miracle solution for all that presently ails us" at frighteningly break-neck speed and most of  us are scratching our heads and wondering how exactly did we get here?  

The answer to the above question is simply that an object, or in this case an idea --e.g., free speech vs. place of privilege, racial equality vs. racism in America, " "climate change" ", "all cops are BAD"-- will continue unchecked in its trajectory and speed  until acted upon by an external force --a much needed counter-posing voice of reason.  The left has high-jacked the conversation in America, everything from media/social media, news and information, academia and even our primary K-12 education.  But this 'high-jacking' actually all started decades ago within our education system, in America, particularly with respect to teaching our nation's history.  By means of editing out parts of our history, the left has succeeded in conditioning the minds of our nation's youth to begin to doubt the founding and operating motives of their nation and their own individual place within this larger scheme.  This lack of a holistic education primes young minds to be receptive to the divisive and dis-empowering ideology of "critical race theory" that is being promulgated in our institutions of higher learning.  For this ideology at it core instills the basic idea that the ONLY thing that truly matters about America is that it is a  "nation founded  upon the subjugation of other races."  Subsequently, citizens of this nation fall into one of only two possible categories:  1) those who must bear the sins of past transgression by our 'ancestors' and are as such "operating from a place of privilege"; or 2) those who remain oppressed and are limited as to what they can achieve simply because of the color of the skin they were born into.  This mindset has been foisted upon us for decades now and its silent workings are finally coming into fruition, as the former children of its teachings are now adult citizens in our nation, citizens who have had the ability to think critically and independently programmed right out them.  More importantly, this programming by its design actually shuts down vital conversations that are necessary toward the end of keeping our democracy alive and thriving, with engaged citizens who actively manage their consent to be governed as opposed to a population ready to willfully surrender to socialism --the antithesis of consent of the governed!-- out of some sense of moral obligation --be this obligation due to guilt or stemming from a sense of victim identification-- for a past history that they do not fully understand in its entirety, a history which they had no direct hand in creating.  This reprogramming of our citizenry alone has set the stage for everything that is currently unfolding in our nation right now, particularly with respect to "racial unrest" that is destroying our major cities across the nation right now. When you factor in a dishonest, truth-omitting and biased propaganda-driven media, is it any wonder that the stage has been set for burning down America?! 

The most important thing to bear in mind right now as our cities burn and even our elected officials threaten to  "burn it down" if things don't go their political way, is that we aren't having the honest conversations we need to having with one another in order to set things to right in our nation once again.  Why aren't we having these conversations? Because more than half of our citizenry lack the necessary skills to have these conversations, while the other half have been brow-beaten into a submissive silence out some warped sense of guilt for a past they had no direct hand in creating.  We absolutely must know our past our History, in its entirety, in order to continue to move forward with some sense of pride and a future vision for sterering our nation, but we must also be able to objectively learn from the lessons of our nation's history --in its ENTIRETY!-- such that we can see how truly far we have come!  That is what we are missing in America today:  perspective ... Far too many Americans presently view our nation through the singular lens of "shame and guilt" and dis-empowerment --because of decades of intentional education mismanagement-- and today President Trump took a vital  step toward correcting this imbalance in our education system, with the end-goal of ultimately restoring our citizenry's ability to think critically, to reason logically and to converse intelligently with facts and long-term consequences in mind, so that we can work begin to work together to bridge our divides and heal our great nation.  President Trump also terminated similar 'education' programs in our government service sectors, although I am amazed that it took this long to realize that our government employees were being subjected to this re-education nonsense.

Our nation is presently headed down a path that is antithetical to the founding principles of our nation ... these principle being that ALL people are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights, chief among these rights being the right to self-determination. Which is to say that each of has the right to guide and shape our lives as we see fit --so long as we do not infringe upon the rights of another-- in pursuit of each our own unique ideas as to what happiness means to us.  This pursuit, however, operates under our agreement of "consent of the governed." Where we are heading, however --if we stay on our current trajectory-- those seeking power will move to fill the vacuum created in the absence of a robust and unifying national conversation and in this future, "Consent of the governed"will no longer be required. Our most basic right to self-determination will slowly fade away, as we are forced to relinquish one liberty after another.  Let me take the opportunity here to make  the distinction between Liberty and Freedom.  We as citizens of the United of States of America are NOT FREE to do anything, anywhere, anytime and to whomever we wish.  We willing surrender certain freedoms, under our consent to be governed, while retaining certain essential liberties.  We make this exchange in order to form a secure, prosperous and functioning society, where chief among government's responsibilities is to ensure our basic security from threats both foregin and domestic.  So the lawlessness we have witnessed destroying our cities across the nation these past several months (e.g., riots, vandalism, burning down businesses, looting, assault and murder) is a breach of the contract that we have made with our local elected officials under our consent to be governed.  While the cause of standing up for Black lives may be just, the method and madness currently being unleashed upon our streets in neighborhoods across the nation IS NOT, especially when these protests-turned-riots fail to take into account ALL Black lives, especially the lives of our young and innocent children.

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To my way of thinking, President Trump's speech today was his "Abraham Lincoln moment" to be certain.  President Trump's speech was a bold gesture, with a follow-up plan of action, aimed like a fiery arrow shot into the darkness of division and mental enslavement.  The President's words lit the torch of unity and patriotism, illuminating the way forward for reclaiming our nation by taking the first bold step in defeating a heretofore nameless 'enemy' that has for decades now cast a shadow of growing hateful division, that having been left wholly unchecked has now permeated deep within the hearts and minds of of our nation's youth and the ill-informed, malleable crowd-followers among us.  Moreover, this darkness has been distorting truth and stifling free speech --these past few months on an unprecedented scale!!!-- the implications being that if you are white, "you are by virtue of your skin color alone a racist and therefore you must forfeit your right to speech."  This is pure madness and the timing of this divisive unleashing is by no means coincidental; the lawlessness and threats to submit/kneel before a new reckoning 'world order; come just in time for probably the most pivotal election in our lifetimes.  Divide and conquer, right?  Democratic Party Election Strategy 101.  I found it rather amazing that conservative talk show hosts have been endlessly lamenting about the "dangers of losing our American right to FREE Speech" for months now, but it was pretty much crickets from them in the aftermath of this historic speech.  Maybe it will take them a few days to actually connect the dots between this speech and the future of Free Speech in America???  Nonetheless, with his words and by his actions, President  Trump has taken a crucial step toward dispelling the shadow of hateful division that would rip our nation apart at a time of great upheaval and crisis, brought on by China's unleashing of a rather suspiciously timed corona-virus pandemic.  For you must name your 'enemy' before you can have any hope of ever defeating him, or in this instance the ideology "critical race theory" and all of it's deceptive, dis-empowering trappings which hold that America is a "systemically racist nation."  In the absence of a counterbalance, the latter lunacy becomes truth by default.  In the absence of a counterbalancing push-back/force we allow this enemy to  to continually whittle away at the America of our founding.  

For decades now the  misleading and poisonous ideology of "critical race theory" --and all of its sticky trappings (e.g., "place of privilege", "systemic racism", etc.)--  has been promulgated unchecked into our institutions of learning, from grade school on up through higher education in our colleges and universities, with the singular goal of quietly reshaping the hearts and minds of our nation's youth to view their citizenship in America through the singularly focused lens of "shame and guilt." Where this subjective teaching of 'History', by the left, is being/has been accomplished simply by removing  the whole truth of our history from the United States History curriculum all-together.  He who controls speech (i.e., what is taught) controls thought and the left has been patiently laying the groundwork in this respect for decades now.  Today President Trump brazenly announced that no longer will proud patriots remain silent [FREE SPEECH!], powerless and ineffective in the face of this of tide trans-formative darkness.  President Trump threw down the gauntlet and named the culprit at the root of this tide darkness sweeping across our nation: "critical race theory." But equally as important, the President also clearly identified the well-springs of this ideological promulgation, our nation's schools, and he laid out a plan for the eradication of this indoctrination from our schools' curriculum across the nation.  We let this transformation happen, maybe because we didn't connect the dots until now or maybe because we simply weren't paying attention.  The point is, it's not yet too late to take swift and decisive action to turn this tide back in favor of a FREE and just America that values our history and  cherishes our individual right to self-determination.

 

With his "Constitution Day Declaration", President Trump announced the formation of the "1776 Commission" --a direct counter of light and truth to the dark and hollow, misleading shadow spreading in the wake of the "1619 movement" -- where this commission will study and make recommendations for improving our History curriculum in grades  K-12 throughout the nation, such that all sides of our nation's history will be taught, thereby equipping our children, the future of America, with the information and tools they need to embrace the gift of self-determination .. the greatest of gifts that America has to offer to ALL of its citizens.  With a holistic education, particularly with respect to our nation's history, our citizens will once again become equipped with the vital skills necessary to think critically and logically, while expressing themselves intelligently with facts and a firm grasp on longer-term consequences in order to keep the conversation about where America is heading alive and well, thereby beginning to heal the ever-widening chasms of our nation's divide. The declaration also lays out plans for the creation of a "Garden of Heroes" to honor our nation's heroes, individuals like you and me who although not always perfect dedicated their lives --often with great personal sacrifice-- to forging our fledgling nation that has gone on to become the greatest and longest living example of true egalitarian democracy in the entire history of this rapidly spinning Blue planet.  This garden will serve as a concrete, not so easily erased witness to the power of self-determination and to those who sacrificed so very much to make self-determination the pivotal center-point from which our unique form of government operates.  

The President's speech today marks the moment when the silent majority in America --including descendants of long-forgotten, empty Democratic Party promises-- finally RISE UP, in the absence of fear and coercion, in order to stand with a unified voice to call out the left's poisonous ideology for what it truly is:  divisive and dangerous, designed to weaken us individually and to divide us collectively toward the end of dismantling America, as we know it,  so that the left can rebuild it in their long-desired socialist, Marixst image.  By casting out the left's poisonous ideology we will restart the conversation in America once again, with the goal of healing our national divide and awakening a new vision of hope for America's future in the aftermath of the tragedy in the wake of  Covid-19 pandemic.  "We the People" will band together, rising up with a powerful unified voice, in support of an America that uplifts ALL individuals, protecting their constitutional right to self-determination and empowering them to be the BEST that they can be, regardless of the skin color into which they were born.  Working together, we still have a chance to save our unique nation among nations! 

We will not just spout mere words, however, for words in the absence of action are meaningless!  We will actively work with our ACTIONS to empower ALL Americans, of every Race, Creed, Color and Gender to become the best they can BE!    We can take the actions of investing in education, holding school boards and educators accountable for what they choose to teach as well as what they conveniently omit, fighting to enable school choice so children in low-income neighborhoods will no longer be trapped in failing schools, funding HBUs permanently --President did this!-- investing in opportunity zones, mentoring youth, building homes and volunteering in our communities.  Together we can all work to help each other realize our dreams.   In America, one size does not fit all and you are  absolutely NOT limited as to what you can achieve here merely by virtue of the skin that you born into.  That is the biggest lie of all being peddled by the left, that you are a POWERLESS VICTIM: END OF STORY!  I challenge you to WAKE UP and dare to write your own story!  The only thing holding you back is your MIND, so you must guard it carefully.  You must  actively decide to take control  of your mind --regardless of what you have been taught--  for only then can you be truly FREE:  Own your mind!  The Dream of infinite possibilities awaits, but only if you can find the courage within yourself to awaken and to cast off the ideology of being a helpless victim or an 'ancestral oppressor', as the left would have you believe.  They want you to believe, need you to believe in your victim status or guilt, as the case may be.  They need you to believe the generational lie  "you have been born into a world that limits and constrains you."  The later, the left's message, is a message of pure dis-empowering deceit, it is a MENTAL FORM OF SLAVERY being promulgated toward the nefarious end of weakening us individually and dividing us collectively as a nation, by eliminating any notion individual responsibility or POWER.  Their deceit is what has become systematic, they divide us so that they can conquer.  Now is the time to think outside the boxes they have constructed to contain you!  Now is the time VOTE for the change that will once and for all definitively restore HOPE in America once again: VOTE for President Donald J. Trump, the president for We ALL the People! 

9/20 One last thought, President Trump's actions as President of the United States have shown time and time again that he is the President for ALL people, even those who happen to disagree with him on some issues, even those who did not vote for him (e.g., bringing back millions manufacturing jobs,  renegotiating trade deals, wiping out ISIS, brokering not one, but two Middle Eastern Peace Deals --last time this happened was over 75 years ago!).  This is HUGE to my way of thinking, for I remember well feeling like I had no voice, hope or representation whatsoever during the Obama presidency.  I absolutely will not vote for reactionary-Joe Biden in this respect especially.  Timing is everything, especially w.r.t. to knowing when your time has come and thankfully GONE!  I have to think that recent slips --both Biden and Harris made these slips-- referring to the future "Harris-Biden administration" have actually been intentional, in order to reassure voters that Harris will be in charge.

9/22 I heard on KIRO Talk Radio today, "Dori Munson" show that kindergarten children in a Seattle classroom are starting off each virtual school day with an acknowledgement that they are "living on stolen land" --per a concerned mother who called into the show.  Is that crazy or what?  Not only is this a mis-truth, for many students are NOT direct descendants of the people who took land from native tribes, but this is a form of brain-washing that surely borders on outright child abuse.  Even if there were some nugget of truth in this claim, children in kindergarten absolutely do not need to carry this burden or even to begin to grapple with its consequences at a such a young age.  They just are not equipped to deal with such issues at this critical stage in their development, unless of course the objective here is outright manipulation.  Dori Munson remarked that he's grateful that "parents are finally getting a glimpse of the crap that is being foisted upon our children, day after day."  One upside to whole pandemic fiasco?

Operating from a "place of privilege"????

I have to be honest. I reject the latest talking point in our national conversation, "that we come from a place of privilege."  Why? Because, this notion is the very antithesis of empowerment for any and everyone, on every level possible. Coming at our interactions with others we may encounter on our journey through this life can perhaps be more meaningful when we communicate from a place of heartfelt humility.  That being said, humility does not operate beneath the limiting constraints of guilt and submission, which the very phrase "place of privilege" embodies.  To the contrary, humility operates from a place of centeredness and non-judgment, traits which come from a place of empowerment.  Humility is empowering because it is a CHOICE, freely made and fully embraced in the absence of external coercion.

I choose to embrace those I interact with from a place of empowerment, accepting them for who they are in their uniqueness and for the individual journey that they have undertaken to get to the place where they are today.  I acknowledge their spirit and the spiritual journey that are on in their individual quest for enlightenment.  I accept that some of us have taken different paths along our spiritual journeys and that some of us have yet to even figure out that we are indeed on a spiritual journey --that "we are spiritual beings presently having a human experience."  The concept of privilege is a loaded construct, centered around materialism and rife with opportunities for misunderstanding.  Since materialism is antithetical to the very concept of spiritualism --which I hold is the very reason for our being-- I choose to avoid this group-think rabbit-hole of "place of privilege" all together, focusing instead on a wealth that cannot be bought or sold.  To my way of thinking, we are each here and given the unique set of circumstances we need in order to achieve some small measure of spiritual evolution.  And quite, frankly, the only way we can evolve is to take ownership of our individual circumstances.  Wallowing in self-pity --or group-pity as the case may be-- or lamenting that another has/has not more than I do, from a spiritual perspective, really misses the whole reason for our being, in my humble opinion.

I have to wonder, if we "must get past materialism in order to evolve", then why do so many 'enlightened individuals' seem to be so intently focused on materialism these days, operating under the guise of privilege.  The answer to this question, from my perspective is that this message is currently --and rather conveniently-- being used in order to systematically disarm, weaken and divide us, so that we will become compliant to the whims of an elite who do not want us to be focused on our strengths,  both individually as well as collectively as a nation.  For even by our mere willingness to entertain this construct of "privilege", we begin to reprogram our minds to think in terms of "guilt" and "shame", traits which run counter to a productive inspiration and empowerment, and dare I say an independence of will and thought.  Instead of focusing on the widely accepted narrative of "privilege",  I choose instead to listen, but also to encourage and to empower others, by my words and actions, that we may each of us be inspired to Hope and to Dream once again.  Then, working together, from a shared place of centered humility --which operates independent of any notion of privilege-- we can learn from one another and work together toward common objectives, with real-world tangible goals that would make our world a better place in the here and now.

[If you want to defy the norms, the powers that conspire to contain and control us ... to alter our minds by controlling what we SEE and therefore think, then share this post with others.  Let's see if we can defy their suppression attempts??????? COLOR BOLDLY OUTSIDE their LINES ..............................]

In closing, my thoughts and prayers are especially with those who lost their lives, loved ones or health/livelihoods on this day, 19 years ago.  May we "never forget" --although watching the news these days it does seem as if we might have forgotten?-- and may we once again aspire to find that sense of kinship and togetherness, within ourselves, that gave our nation the strength to arise from the ashes of an imposed act of terrorist madness.

Consent of the Governed Will Evaporate Like a Mirage in the Harshest Desert of TRUTH ....

Into:  This post is far from perfect!!!  As such, given everything I have going on right now with respect to finishing up my advanced degrees and processing my grief over the death of my father, this post will be an ongoing, evolving conversation about the state of America heading into the final stretch of the 2020 Presidential Election.  I definitely have A LOT of angst about the upcoming election, on multiple levels, but first and foremost I look around and bear witness to the violence and destruction unfolding on our major city streets and I see the unnecessary division being sewn among us for purely political ends and it grieves me greatly.  Living in the Seattle area, bearing witness to the chaos in our Democrat Party run city, truly makes me question my fellow man in a way I never would have thought possible a decade ago. People across the nation, but especially in my immediate surroundings have willingly surrendered their minds in order to "save the soul of our nation" and their own souls by default. Convenient timing, right? Just before a major election.  Matters of the soul transcend logic and reason, therefore one must blindly surrender on the basis of  a newfound 'faith; alone?  Blind adherence on the basis of a man-made dogma has always scared the hell out of me, no matter the source of its origin (i.e., religious or otherwise).

So what this post presently amounts to is basically my attempt to speak up and say:

1) We absolutely are NOT a systemically racist society--but in order to fully understand and accept this one must first know the history of their nation!!!

2) People need to ******* WAKE UP and start owning their OWN MINDS!!! --liberals now control most vehicles for thought-sharing today, in 2020, and that's on us for sitting idly by and letting it happen over the course of decades --have to give Democrats some credit here, they've patiently been playing the long-game; the only thing that gives me hope is that "the moral arc of the universe is long, but ultimately self-correcting" ... favorite saying of former President Obama. The question then becomes, what will We , the People, choose to do about this imbalance that clearly no longer serves us and the ideals upon which our great nation was founded?

3) The facts (e.g., previous voting records, former administration policies, bearing firsthand witness to a striking decline in candidate's cognitive capabilities and video clip-evidence of former statements made by candidates --they live on forever!!)  actually MATTER!  Prettily strung together, poetic prose delivered from on high cannot/should not detract from getting at some version of reality-based fact in order to find truth. To settle for less is just plain CRAZY!  Seriously, why would you ever put people into office who condescendingly think you, the People, are basically too stupid to understand their policy positions and therefore they offer nothing concrete --but in truth this lack of policy position stems largely from the fact that the Democratic Party is at present so splintered (e.g., radical left, progressive and moderate) that they can't actually commit to any one policy position stance on any issue for fear of alienating any part of their fractured base, thereby potentially costing them the election.  The Democrats current message --based on their convention-- is that "The other guy is BAD, so trust us --VOTE for us-- and we'll do what's best for you when we get into office"  So you have to VOTE for Democrats in order to SEE how they will govern??? Seriously, this is NOT a valid reason to vote for any political candidate, especially when the few policy positions they manage to coherently state wind up changing as the polling data dictates.  A resignation to vote this way --in the absence of facts and past history which speaks to counter the party's current promises-- is pure MADNESS and quite frankly, it doesn't paint a great picture for the future governance of America.

More to come as time permits and my head clears ....

With regards to “What are you going to do about it?” In my previous posts. Here are some concrete thoughts and ideas:

We seriously need to crowd fund a “Voice of the People” news & information service that serves as another source of fact-checking on mainstream media. Where this site would offer some reality-based version of truth, while calling out specific instances of misinformation, including the prevalent --albeit convenient-- sins of omission. If nothing else, we have to each step up to the plate and call these politically biased, agenda-driven liars out on the crap they are shoveling out into our airwaves 24/7. The media’s subversion only works if we let them get away with it! So please, put in the time and effort to search for your own version of truth and then let your voice be heard! Post on your social media –if you haven’t already walked away from these biased and controlling sites- talk to friends, acquaintances, neighbors and co-workers and offer some counter-balancing, reality-based reason to the story of America that is currently being told. We may be shunned, censored and have traffic to our sites shut-down [9/10/20 Yup, my daily traffic here is now down around 0-11 visits per day], but we have to TRY! If all else fails, write a book! Seriously! “Democracy, as we know, it is [truly] at stake in America.” That is the one talking point coming out of the DNC that I happen to agree with. We also need to push the federal government –by way of our U.S. Congress women and men-- to FINALLY have Social Media platforms regulated as news & media entities, thereby removing the protections that are presently allowing them to control news and information content on their respective platforms, while censoring those who dare disagree with the liberal agenda.

One upside of Covid-19 is that it has shown us a new way to conduct higher learner, a way that doesn’t necessarily have to cost a small fortune to realize aspirations of a college education. What all of this on-line learning has taught us is that we need to embrace a method of learning and expanding thought, logic and reason that doesn’t have to take place within limiting confines of the sterile liberal vacuum of indoctrination that the majority of our colleges and institutions in America have now become. We must avidly pursue these alternative on-line options for higher education moving forward – as well as pushing for "school choice", at the K thru level.  We need to do these thing for the sake of our nation, in order to preserve the minds of our future generations with regards to their ability to think for themselves, using facts, logic & reason, so that they can then act independently, if necessary, to grasp the concepts of future consequence.

The masses, mostly on the left in our nation, just cannot seem to grasp the notion of consequence, future or otherwise these days? They seem willing to just be blindly led, in the absence of actual policy positions –or for the few positions that have been stated by Democrats, they wind up blowing with the prevailing wind of the latest polls … In other words, Democrats will pretty much say and spin anything in order to regain power once again. The modern masses seem completely oblivious to the fate that awaits them should the plans of the liberal elite be enacted.  For in the absence of tangible policy positions, you will have nothing with which to hold your elected official accountable.  I mean, just try taking some of the Left’s main talking points and then try for a moment to follow them through to their long-term, logical conclusions. The long-term outcomes aren’t pretty. Maybe accountability no longer matters to the voters left?  Don’t know about you, but that sure scare the HELL out of me!

Bottom-line, the time has come to reclaim our American institutions: Education, Academia, Corporate Elites crushing small business competition (e.g., riots in big cities burning small businesses to ASH), mainstream media –both television and print-- big tech and social media giants. This IS THE REVOLUTION WE NEED! Not revisiting the days of slavery and the Civil Rights movement, because we have actually conquered these issues. To quote Jason D. Hill in the intro to his new book: “We have overcome.” We have come so very far, but only by truly knowing our history will you ever be able to see the progress America has made thus far.  This is why the left is on a mission to systemically destroy our nation's history. Do we still have some work to left to do, absolutely and most Americans agree with this. What I reject, and what most Americans reject, is the notion that “America is a systemically racist nation”…  "The notion that "A long over-due revolution against systemic racially inequality is finally taking hold" is a myth, a flat-out lie being pushed the blatantly left-biased media in order to further a political agenda, namely that of allowing the Democrats to regain control of our country.  If America were a systemically racist country why didn't this revolution take hold during the  eight years of leadership under our first ever Black President of the United States, President Obama?  If you truly believe that America is now, all of a sudden, a systemically racist country then  you are truly being played! You are being used as a pawn in a larger political game, with the end-game being regaining POWER. And sadly you, your thoughts, hopes and dreams are wholly expendable as far as the left is concerned. Why you would continue to believe the empty promises being spun-out on the left just completely bewilders me! Joe Biden has been in political office, in one form or another, for the better part of 47 years and what exactly can he point to in his record as ”promises kept”, or really any tangible action that has made life better for Black communities?

The answer is Biden can’t point to a single thing that he’s done to tangibly help the Black community. In point of fact, Biden was part of the U.S. congress that wrote and passed the “Three Strikes” criminal justice reform, in the 90’s, that wound up ripping Black families apart by incarcerating --for ridiculously long sentences!-- people for drug possessions that aren’t even prosecuted nowadays in many states. It was President Trump who turned this unjust tide around with his "First Step Act” [corrected the name of this act 9/10, I had it wrong in my original post]. This program is now commuting the sentences of deserving individuals who have more than served their time and done so responsibly, with dignity and a willingness to reform. Take for instance recent honoree at the White House, Alice Johnson.  Alice was the first beneficiary of the First Step Act and she later received a pardon from President Trump as well. The First Step Act is an incredible program that is not only correcting injustices but it’s opening the doors of HOPE for forgotten people who deserve so much better. Did Obama-Biden take this type of legislation up during either one of their two terms in office? NOPE! Did wages and opportunities improve for Black communities under Obama-Biden? NOPE! But under Trump-Pence wages have been rising consistently, temporarily put on hold by Covid-19 impacts to our economy, but if the stock-market hitting 29,000 is any indication of what the future state of our economy looks like, wages will continuing their upward trend shortly, across the entire nation.

Historically Black Universities have had their funding significantly increased under the Trump administration as well.  Moreover, President Trump made the increase permanent, so the HBU’s don’t have to worry about constantly having to reapply for this funding. Working with HUD, President Trump has brought in private-sector investors to create "opportunity-zones" which are now providing business opportunities, jobs and revitalizing Black communities across the nation. Under the Trump economy, Black unemployment hit the lowest recorded rate in the history of our nation, same for women, Hispanics and Asians. That is so HUGE!  President Trump also realizes that in order to have any shot at the American Dream –whatever your version of this may be-- you need a quality primary --K -12th grade-- education, first and foremost. As such, President Trump wants to work with Department of Education to bring school choice to every child in America.  With this crucial policy change in place,  children in our poorest communities will no longer be trapped in failing schools. 

Lastly, as for the notion that all Police are “Bad” and “need to be defended” --the ‘reason for the rampant violence, destruction and looting currently being waged our city streets across the nation’-- consider this:  “more Black men were struck by lightening than were murdered by police officers last year.”~Tucker Carlson 9/3/20 ... I tried to find stats on the number of Black men killed by Police Officers under the Obama-Biden administration, but all the data I found starts --conveniently?-- only at the very end of 2015. That is to say data during the Obama-Biden years is not readily available.  Rather suspicious, isn’t it? I’m guessing these Obama-Biden numbers don’t fit the current narrative -- that this is Trump inspired problem-- and as such the Obama-Biden numbers for Black men killed by cops are being suppressed?

Do we need to weed out bad cops, absolutely. But agreement on this point does not, in turn, mean we currently have an "epidemic of Bad Cops” that warrants shutting down ALL law enforcement.  This defies all logic and reason, as does the omission of important facts surrounding the death of Black men who are shot --usually in self-defense-- by police officers.  The medical examiner determined that George Floyd had a lethal level of fentanal in his system at the time of his death.  The key symptom of which is an inability to breathe, with eventual respiratory failure resulting in death.  There is video footage of George Floyd sitting in the back of the police care, before  he tried to escape, stating repeatedly "I can't breathe" ... long before officers tried to restrain him in order to put him back into the vehicle.  But did you hear this on ANY ONE of the mainstream media networks?  Nope! To add insult to injury the left --staff members on Kamala Harris' election team among them-- is supporting rioters wreaking havoc in our cities --by funding organizations raising money to fund rioter bailouts.  They were silent on the riots throughout the DNC, calling the protests 'most peaceful protests' --a fact which was countered every evening on local news in these burning cities.  Then they encouraged "the [inevitable] revolution" and now due to polling dictates, Joe Biden and company are finally denouncing the violent rioters, wink-wink.... Bottom-line, the vast majority of men and women in our local law enforcement communities do a fantastic job of keeping us safe and serving our local communities, putting their own lives on the line each and every day, and they should commended and supported not attacked, defunded and driven out of their communities. Representative Tim Scott has a plan to begin addressing short-comings in police standards and training –and he’s willing to take amendments/make changes-- but Democrats flat-out refuse to work with him in any meaningful way. Why? Democrats want to keep tensions high and have violent riots raging in the street in our biggest cities across the nation in order to keep the idea of “systemic racism” alive and well heading into the election 2020. How truly shameful! They are the ones creating and fueling the national battle to combat a supposed ‘systemic racism’ and they have the gall to put the blame on President Trump?! Really?? How dumb do you think “We the People” are? And these are the people you would entrusting with looking out for your best interests?

Given all of the above, people have a CLEAR and informed choice to make. Will  YOU be played, used for purely partisan political ends –yet again, when the stakes are so very high and when the opportunity for REAL change is so very CLOSE-- or will YOU finally awaken and embrace some form of meaningful logic and reason in order to find the courage to VOTE for meaningful change and opportunity? As Americans, we need to focus on the larger battle not waste valuable time & energy battling with each other! We need to focus on reclaiming our American institutions? Because not only do these institutions no longer serve “We the People”, but they now stand to impede our very right to purse Life, Liberty and own unique versions of Happiness. These institutions now solely serve the liberal elites who have their own nefarious agenda. They look down upon “We the People”, mere average citizens, with disdain and contempt. They lecture us on almost a daily basis –in fact, this pretty much sums up the entirety of Democratic National Convention. These elites want to control every aspect of your life, “for the greater good”, systematically stripping away your liberties, one at a time, until America will become completely unrecognizable. They want to put a stake in the “American Dream”, the notion that if you work hard you can achieve anything. Instead, the elites plan to replace this dream with privilege for them and control for the rest of us, as they move America into the greater ' ‘global community’ ' --just look well (not) the European worked out-- with complete disregard (and utter disdain) for founding principles of our uniquely equitable nation, as clearly outlined in our United States Constitution. If you do nothing now, if you let them win THIS TIME there may well be no turning back. A new contract will be forged and it will be one of ABSOLUTE control, where the notion of “consent of the governed” will evaporate like a mirage in the harshest desert of truth. You have been warned, not with the intent of generating FEAR but rather ACTION!

All Wars Begin in the Mind ....

"All wars begin in the [human] mind", a well known Vedic mantra ... Do you agree or disagree?  Well if this is true, then not only are we living in 'interesting times' (ironically, an ancient Chinese curse), but we're living in some really dangerous times!  I mean, is it only me who feels like we're presently living in a really BAD episode of the old classic black & white  television series, "The Twilight Zone"?  Defunding the Police across the nation will really protect and save Black lives???  Defunding the Police won't lead to outright anarchy and chaos when the truly meaningful laws (our elected government officials actually do get around passing) no longer have anyone around to enforce them?  Drive any speed you like?  Traffic signs and lights, awwh shucks, those are just suggestions.  And bonus they'll take your guns too, so you won't be able to defend yourself when there are no longer any law enforcement officers to act as deterrents against crime and violence or to call on for help when you need it.

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The list of downright crazy just goes on and on, highlighted by the supposedly  'peaceful' --what planet are those who claim these are 'peaceful' protests living on?!-- protests  that are being violently co-opted by radical left-wing activists in our nation's biggest cities --which, conveniently the  mainstream media just isn't bothering to cover with even basic facts.  But the tip-top two on my "ultimate crazytown" list have got to be, by far:  #1) That one of our two major political parties has chosen to run a COGNITIVELY challenged individual-- someone who can't string even two coherent sentences together-- and no on the Left is saying ANYTHING?!  Crickets would be better than the mainstream media's pathetic attempts to SPIN Joe Biden. Talk about your ultimate shadow government ... who exactly do people who are seriously considering voting for Joe Biden think will be running show if he's elected?  Moreover, do these would-be Biden voters even really care WHO will be running the show? Or do the 'people who matter' already know the answer to this question? And why isn't anyone else asking this question?!!!!!? ... All that being said, my #2 for "ultimate crazytown" would make all renowned philosophers from ages past simply turn over in their graves: (drum roll please!)  #2) that men "have a constitutional right [need??!!??] to be guaranteed taxpayer funded abortions."  'Take that blankin' Biology and a finger to you, Mother Nature!'  In our new world order, if we can merely 'think' upon a thing, it now becomes part of our tangible reality. Wow?!  Let's ask Californians how merely thinking upon green-energy is working for them?  Technologically speaking, green-energy was NOT ready for prime-time, per the SCIENCE! But the brilliant minds in California's government figured if they merely mandated green-energy, via legislation, that they could magically prove Science wrong.  Look how that's working for them in their new imposed reality of widespread power outages (unpredictable and unplanned) and blackouts (planned attempts at managing crisis). Really, that's where we are at now ... Man, all bets are truly off if this represents the malleable state of the current human mind.  And you wonder why the aliens took a hard pass on contacting Earth?


9/1/2020 Not a word of mention during the entire Democratic National Convention regarding the rampant violence and destruction being waged by bused-in rioters in our biggest cities across the nation.  Then suddenly, post Republican National Convention and in light of new polling data, Joe Biden suddenly comes out denouncing these riots, the violence and destruction --wink, wink ... follow the $$money$$, people!  And then, to add insult to injury, Biden tries to blame these heretofore non-existent riots on President Trump? Ever heard of the constitutional "separation of powers", Mr. Biden? Criminal activity on city streets must be taken care of by local law enforcement, unless and until the governor of a state formally requests federal assistance ... Wake-up you Fools! Stop drinking the feel-good 'Koolaide' of  one-size fits all, black & white, empty-promises (words and no action to back it UP!) and OWN your blankin' minds before it's too late!  Liberty, the life-blood of our American Democracy is what's at stake in America!!! Liberty ensures, but also requires a measure FREEDOM OF THOUGHT [meaning you must actively USE YOUR MIND to seek your own version of truth, using actual facts, logic and reason. Just swallowing the truckloads of **** being shoveled 24/7, in concert by liberal elites, mainstream media, politicians, academics, corporate owners and big tech doesn't really cut it anymore!] 

 

I challenge you to exercise that atrophied 'muscle' between your big ears and to follow reason and logic to your own conclusions!  Don't just blindly accept party-driven mantras and talking points. The issues are not all plain black and white, although the elites would have you believe that the issues truly are just that simple.  Unfortunately, thanks to the mainstream media --which has now become a blanket propaganda tool for the Democratic Party-- and social media, finding your own version of truth is not so easy nowadays, but that shouldn't stop you from trying.  I dare you to color BOLDLY outside some thought-lines and then connect the dots.  You might be surprised at what you'll find?  Then speak up now and act now, or forever hold your tongue, lest America be remade in the Liberals long-desired elitist image.  For in that future world, you will have no choice but to surrender your MIND --if you haven't already?

In the Absence of Words ....

All that is heard need not be spoken?

As I watch the casket of Rep. John Lewis being escorted into the nation’s capital by the military honor guard (on television), I reflect upon the visitation, funeral and burial of my own father, a retired military officer himself … another who dedicated a vast portion of his life in service to our great nation, a little over a week ago.  The inspirational speeches honoring the man and the legacy of Representative John Lewis ensue and I think on the wonderful legacy my father leaves behind, but sadly there were no speeches given on my father’s behalf … no loved ones were given (or took) the opportunity to speak publicly about the way Robert had touched their lives.  Such is the way of the Catholic Rite of Passage.  For the parting observances and ceremony in the Catholic funeral are not meant to console the living, I am told.  Rather, the Catholic tradition/mass is meant solely to prepare the soul of departed for what comes next.  I suppose, being a devout Catholic, my father approved of the order of events surrounding his funeral rite.  That should give me comfort?  I am happy that my father was able to buried with military honors, even though only eight family members were allowed to attend the burial ceremony, thanks to covid-19.  We were unable to watch the actual burial –also due to covid-19.  The send-off ceremony was conducted at an outdoor chapel, after which my father was loaded into a white utility van and driven off to his burial site for burial by men, strangers to him … men in hardhats, with cranes and ladders.  We can return to visit his grave once the headstone has been installed, but I will be back home on the other side of the country by  then.

My father’s passing happened so quickly and it was rather unexpected for all of us, including him.  The upside, I suppose is that he did not suffer long.  Sitting here in the aftermath of this hurricane, however, the latter does not feel like much of a consolation to those of us left behind, but perhaps in time it will?  I am grateful that the priest who presided over my father’s funeral mass knew him well and considered him a dear friend, for my father was very active in his church community.  Still, somehow, this friend’s words do not completely fill the void that is left behind in the absence of sharing comforting words, stories and memories by loved ones during any one of the visitation, funeral mass or burial service.  A solemn acceptance seems to permeate the being of those choosing to worship in the Catholic tradition and this is not a trait I happen to share, hence my departure from the Catholic faith over a decade ago. Questioning, rather acceptance, is at the very core of my being, and the Catholic faith failed miserably to adequately address the multitude of questions I have. For me, these questions are the biggest part of the spiritual journey I am on.  Yet, I still respect the right of others to choose the manner in which they will to pursue their own spiritual journey.

I am grateful for my sixth sense, for it helped me through this dark time, especially during the hours surrounding my father’s passing.  I have said before that “Death and Isabelle are old friends,” I just wish I had been given a bit more notice in this particular instance.  Still, we none of us are promised a tomorrow, I now understand this on a visceral level.  I was able to spend an hour or so with my father, while he was still awake and conscious, the evening before his passing, when he came home from the hospital to spend his final hours in the loving comfort of family.  Then I took turns sitting with my father, along with my two sisters, throughout the night.  I was the last person to speak with him, holding his hands, before he lost consciousness.  Some would have thought this closing of his eyes was merely a return to sleep, but my sixth sense knew at that very moment –by way of his spirit-- that those would be the last words my father would utter in this life.  My father opened his eyes so wide, and he squeezed my hand.  My father was telling me to SEE, with my sixth sense, so that I could explain/communicate to others his thoughts and wishes in the absence of his own words/consciousness (as we know it) during the final hours of his passing.

I did SEE … I was able to explain where my father was at during his process of crossing over, even to convey his wish of hearing a favorite song, “Country Roads”, by John Denver … which provided us all a moment of levity during his passing as everyone in the room joined in with singing.  The Irish tradition of going around the room and toasting with whiskey, recalling fond memories and sharing stories had us all swinging between rolling laughter and sobbing tears.  I feel as if I was able to minister to my father’s spirit as well, letting him know that we would all be alright and that this body was not who he was meant to be any longer, as we all laid hands on him in an effort to convey energy and our LOVE.  Near the end, I felt my father reconnecting with the spirits of loved ones passed, and then I felt his period of hesitation as he worried about leaving my mother behind.  It was as if his spirit had one foot on each side of the great divide.  It was then that he asked me to convey a promise to my mother and I later did.  I have felt my father’s presence and heard his voice, from time to time, in the days since his passing, even giving me passcodes to accounts that he had failed to leave behind for my mother.  The past few days, however, my father has been quiet.  I suspect his spirit is coming to terms with the fact that things are not quite exactly as his faith/religion had led him to believe.  There are so many questions I want to ask him about this, but in a way I think I already have most of the answers my spirit is capable of understanding in its present form. I also know, in my heart, that those with whom we share a bond are forever with us in spirit, we are eternally connected by way of our ‘heart strings.’ As such, my Dear Father, it is not goodbye, but merely until we meet again.  This is why I wore white to your funeral, for you have been reborn, your passing from this life is not the end ….You're off onto your next great adventure!

Mothers and Daughters ... Fathers and Sons

A daughter is inclined to misunderstand her mother until the day she, herself, becomes a mother, I think.  Such is the cycle of Life, thoroughly brutal when viewed through the myopic lens of TIME, but with perspective most assuredly laced with anchoring moments of profound beauty and opportunities for transformative growth, if we can somehow manage to weather its erosive storms.  And make no mistake, each storm will leave its mark, a time-worn guidepost of your journey home.

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"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin


No upbeat post for "Happy 4th of July" wishes this year ... Too many losses of innocent lives to senseless violence over the weekend.  One thing Mothers across this great nation, and around the globe, have in common:  WE ALL VALUE LIFE, having brought life into this world ourselves.  Perhaps Mothers hold the key to stemming this tide of violence that is taking far too many of our  young long before their time?

Best quote I heard over the weekend came from a Black Man who lost a child to this red tide of violence "How is anyone supposed to take us seriously, when we don't even value our own Black lives?"

What if we could all shift our perspective from seeing only skin color, through the lens of misunderstanding, hatred and retribution, to instead seeing one another as someone else's mother, father, daughter or son?  Surely, we have far more in common than division by means of the mere color of our skin will ever allow?

Change YOUR BRAIN: Change YOUR LIFE ......

He who controls speech has a stranglehold on thought ... Be careful what you wish for?  I think the time has finally come for people in our nation to sincerely take ownership of their pursuit of truth.  Stopping regurgitating what is being fed to you via the mainstream.  Dare to color outside some lines in order to get at your own version of truth; I guarantee, this pursuit of truth will not only change your brain (use your brain), it will forever and irrevocably change your life --and the lives of those around you-- FOREVER!!

In the aftermath of the loss of two young Black lives here in Seattle city, I find myself heart-sickened and I seriously cannot help but wonder:  If Black lives matter, why don’t the lives of these two young men, 19 year-old Horace Lorenzo Anderson and yet-to-be-identified 16 year-old, seem to matter to protesters, the mainstream media and Seattle City leaders? The message being sent by those up in arms, out on the streets protesting and occupying the former CHOP Zone in downtown Seattle seems to be that ‘only certain Black lives matter’ ... Those lives being the Black lives that can be used to advance a political agenda, namely the Black lives who die at the hands of law enforcement officers.  I say this because these two most recent Black lives lost were not taken at the hands of rouge police officers; rather these young lives were tragically, albeit ironically, taken by those occupying the CHOP Zone, the very people protesting because “Black Live Matter.”  Then these same protesters refused to let emergency responders into the CHOP zone to provide timely medical treatment and transport to a hospital.  But no one --outside of family and friends-- here in the Seattle City area seems to be ashamed of this tragic and untimely loss of innocent lives? No one has taken to the streets protesting in the aftermath of the senseless, tragic and untimely deaths of these two young Black men. How utterly sickening and sad?! And the deaths of other innocent young lives spans across the country, most notably in Chicago, Illinois. But the media are not even covering this ongoing tragic loss of  life.

But perhaps the loss of these precious young lives will serve as WAKE-UP CALL to EVERYONE as to the true nature behind the Beast that has now become occupying/”Defund the Police!” movements around the country (e.g., Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City). WAKE UP, PEOPLE!  This movement doesn’t care about YOU! The movement doesn’t really even care about Black lives. Rather “Black Lives Matter” (BLMA) has co-opted your initially peaceful and wholly justified movement (i.e., rooting out bad cops and reforming a system that at times appears to disproportionately take Black lives) in order to advance a radically Leftist agenda --an agenda shared by those on the Left well beyond the scope BLMA!-- an agenda that would see a truly subjugating and warped vision for America come about by way of toppling the very institutions that serve to provide the cornerstone of stability for order in our society, namely law enforcement and local government.  

Make no mistake, without the above institutions our laws and our United States Constitution become nothing more than useless words written upon scraps of ‘paper’, as order will give way to outright chaos. If the radical Left succeeds here, it will become every person for himself, until the Marxist order conveniently steps in to upright the ship they have very decisively and systematically worked to topple over the course of decades, through various vehicles of destruction ... the latest one being BLMA.  And if you thought slavery was bad, Marxism will become the slavery for the modern-day era.  It will reach out to swallow up every man, woman and child of EVERY RACE, CREED AND COLOR until absolute submission to those in charge is achieved. In this new form of slavery, the leaders --those ‘looking out for us’-- will have A LOT and all the rest of us will equally HAVE NOT.  Should you dare to think for yourself or to dissent from the approved thought/order you will be flat-out crushed! And the only people who will have the guns in this Marxist-scenario will be the criminals and the puppets working for those in charge. If you thought a few rogue cops were bad, just wait until you experience the wrath of those in charge of enforcing total submission under this new perverted world-order.  Free-speech/Free-thought will become extinct, relics of a distant past all too soon forgotten.  America will finally be united as we citizens all will equally HAVE NOT, subject to the whims of our leaders (a.k.a. masters) --who by the way will no longer be elected.  How’s that for a new, equitable vision for America?  I mean the irony here is just palpable ... How can people not logically follow the steps: from co-opting protests, co-opting education/thought and free speech/media/social media, on through to present attempts at dismantling law enforcement in our ordered society, right on through to the end objective of outright revolution and an end to America as we know it today?  The United States of America, despite its many faults is one of the greatest, longest lasting models for “consent by the governed” in the entire history of this Rapidly Spinning Blue Planet.  But therein lies the our Achilles heel: our History ....

I truly believe that at the heart of this profound inability of people --particularly younger people-- to process longer term consequences, across the board, lies an intended dismantling of our nation’s history.  That’s why the BLMA movement is out to topple statues and monuments across the nation. They’re not even just tearing down statues of Confederates and slave owners; in their ignorance they are pulling down statues of abolitionist --the definition of “abolitionist”, is those ardently fighting  to put an end to slavery!-- Union Army leaders --those who fought against the Confederate slave owners-- along with other non-racist historical figures (e.g., Francis Scott Key, composer of “Star Spangled Banner” .. our national anthem).  This dismantling of our nation's history is systemic and its been going on for decades, starting in early childhood education, on up through high school and into our colleges and universities.  Bottom line:  If you don’t know or understand your history, not only are you destined to repeat it but more importantly you can’t see just HOW VERY FAR WE HAVE COME since the days of slavery, through the Civil Rights Movements, on up to the present time.

Are we a totally perfect nation?  No we are not; We still have work to do, but most of us get this.  As such, average U.S. citizens are more than willing to roll up our sleeves, to have some serious interactive discussions --not just mono-syllabic, mantra-driven shouting matches-- and then get down to working together to get the rest of this equitable nation-building DONE! --[sadly, the latter don’t seem to be traits shared by our current U.S. Congress ... witness the U.S. Senate's inability to come together in order to pass guidance/ legislation on "law enforcement reform." This thanks to Senate Democrats who refused to come to the table, even with the offer of unlimited amendments!  Senator Tim Scott's initial bill may not have been perfect, but few bills seldom are.  Still Senator Scott's bill could have served as a timely and much needed starting point for further discussion and amendments.  I think, at the end of the day, Senate Democrats just wanted to postpone any true resolution so that they can run on "law enforcement reform" in the upcoming election. ]  That is the true beauty of America, our differences when honored have the power to make America shine! America is not about conformity to the fleeting whims of the very vocal minority.  America is about freedom of EVERYONE --regardless of race, creed or color.  America is about our God-given right to pursue our own unique versions of LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS.  In America, one size doesn’t fit all!  The Left knows this fact well and that is why their rhetoric is consistently rife with messages of division, identity and disunity.  United, America stands; divided it will inevitably fall.  This is exactly what the extreme LEFT have been hoping and planning for, for decades now and today, now more so than ever, they are so very close to finally achieving their objective??? So then, the question becomes: will you continue to be a willing, silent pawn in their master game? Or will you finally wake-up and speak out for an America that is worth saving!!! Two things can be simultaneously true: 1) Black lives matter (because ALL lives matter) and 2) American ideals of LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS are worth fighting for.  These two ideas do NOT have to be mutually exclusive ... Philosophy 101. Instead of acquiescence to the will of the crowd, why  not dare to be the lone voice of reason in a crowd gone MAD!

My heartfelt sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with all families who of those who have been injured/those injured and those who have lost loved ones during these times of violent protest and destruction.  May God keep, Bless and guide you all during these difficult times!

Sorry for so many typos!  My hand is much better now, just forgot how to type, I guess???

What does wearing a mask do for you? For others?

Covid-19 is still here and its still a serious virus, even deadly for some --i..e., the elderly and anyone with underlying health conditions, including diabetes, asthma and other lung related diseases, auto-immune diseases, heart diseases and this virus can even be deadly for young children.  Pondering the effectiveness of completely shutting down our nation and now reopening across the country aside --before the roll-out of an effective vaccine for Covid-19-- many of you must be wondering what does wearing a mask actually do for me?


Well a brilliant fluid dynamics engineer made a helpful video in answer the above question.  This video shows the particles that the average person emits into the air while simply breathing, talking, coughing, etc. without wearing a mask and then it contrasts this with wearing a mask --both covering the nose and only covering the mouth with the nose exposed.  This video really is quite illuminating.  I bet most of us never realized how much particle matter/droplets we actually project out into the space around us?  This realization is especially mind-boggling in light of the current pandemic!  To me, this video also points out why, even with masks, there is still a need for 6 feet of social-distancing.  Basically, a mask helps to reduce and limit the range of particulates exhaled, but it does not completely eliminate all exhaled particulate matter.  You can also see clearly from these images that wearing a mask with your NOSE HANGING out doesn't work!!!

                                       Air-flow Video Engineer Blog:  Matthew E. Staymates

                         CLICK HERE TO WATCH: Air-flow Video for Human Respiration



What this video demonstrates is that your choosing NOT to wear out in public actually puts other people at risk for contracting the virus, especially in light of the fact that large numbers of people are asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19.  You may not feel you, personally, are at risk for Covid-19 and think that for this reason you will choose not to wear a mask, but your decision not to wear a mask out in public --in light of this video-- winds up being really inconsiderate and downright selfish.  We are living in difficult times and with these challenging times comes a responsibility to think beyond ourselves and to maybe go the extra mile by putting ourselves at an inconvenience by wearing a mask, simply because it may help to keep someone else SAFE.  And we only have to do this until a vaccine becomes widely available ... Hopefully, just for a matter of months.  Surely, we can all handle this minor inconvenience for just few short months???  In this way, people who might be at some risk can still get out to get groceries, etc.  Because not everyone has someone who will go out and shop for them.  And sometimes, at risk people might get a little stir crazy too!  Ever stop to think of that?

What better way to unite as a country than to adopt a policy of always wearing a mask when out in public? Wearing a mask should serve as a sign of unity of respect for our fellow citizens of this amazing nation.  Because ultimately, your choice DOES AFFECT EVERYONE AROUND YOU ... The more you know ....  So wear your face-covering/mask.  Do it because you are a decent person and you have the ability to think of someone beyond yourself.  Wear your mask for someone's pre-compromised child, mother, sister, brother, grandparent.  Wearing a mask shows you truly respect and care for others.

By the way, I have read numerous instances of people who were previously infected with Covid-19, since recovered, being re-infected with Covid-19 for a second time.  So having had the Covid-19 virus already apparently does not mean that you cannot be re-infected.  You can be re-infected and even potentially become an asymptomatic carrier and spreader of the Covid-19 virus!

Final thought, I hope that our President, Donald J. Trump, will set the stage for mask wearing by dawning his own mask at his upcoming re-election rally this weekend.  If the President wants my vote, he should set a good example for the rest of the nation by starting to wear a MASK when he is out in public/in group settings!!!

6/21/202  Thinking on our nation's ongoing profound inability to unify in the face of adversity ... I think at the core of this inability to unite lies an innate selfishness, a me-centeredness if you will.  With great freedoms can come the risk of great selfishness?  I mean, if you cannot unite in the face of a pandemic, then when exactly can you ever unite as a country?  Wearing a mask is a chance to show unity and respect for our fellow countrymen during a time of heightened anxiety and uncertainty for so many.  Is that really too much to ask of Americans????

==> No mask for Trump walking into rally or during the speech.  Sad!  When it comes to setting examples, Trump gets an "F" in my book.  Ever the rebel, even when the stakes are so very high?  Let's see how those odds wind up playing out for him, both with respect to his contracting the virus as well as at the polls come November 2020?

Wake UP, People ... You're ALL Being PLAYED!

Never ceases to AMAZE how sadly predictable people are, on both sides of current issues currently burning across our nation.  Wake up people, ALL of you are being used! ... You're being played.  That which divides us does NOT make us stronger, nor will it ever bring about lasting and significant change.  What do suppose will step in to fill void created by anger, violence, destruction and self-righteous defense?  If you destroy it, they will rebuild this nation in their long-desired image and I've got news for you: it will be antithesis of everything that has the potential to bring out the BEST in America that people across the globe once aspired to.  Let the myriad of visions of dystopian futures dance wildly about in your mind ...  America is truly unique as a nation, encompassing  a wide variety of opportunities to pursue our own individual visions of LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of HAPPINESS on our own terms.  Our collective individuality and the freedoms we enjoy, here in America, are what we should be fighting for ... not fighting each other over our perceived differences; this is a convenient distraction that those on Left often wield --particularly in times of crisis-- in an attempt to seize power and we are letting it work, willfully playing right along.  How sad?!  Let's be honest, we are never all going to agree on everything all of the time, but that IS THE TRUE BEAUTY of our system of governance.  Our differences, when honored, have the potential to make America something truly remarkable!

"You can't start a fire without a spark and some seeking power are using 

this spark to burn fires in the absence of true leadership."

The above being said, we all can rally around ongoing injustice in abuses suffered by African Americans at the hands of handfuls of misguided law enforcement officers.  Too many previous Presidents and elected officials have NOT done enough to provide the strong, centralized leadership needed to begin rectifying this ongoing needless loss of LIFE.  That's how we find ourselves once again reeling in the wake of senseless loss of LIFE and tragedy, with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis MN.  Our major cities are burning, rife with rampant violence and destruction as the offshoot of once legitimate and on the whole peaceful protests. Opportunists and those that want to see America destroyed, so they can rebuild it to fit their misguided 'global' ideology, will NEVER let a good crisis go to waste. Leadership in America would do well to bear this in mind for the future! TIMING IS EVERYTHING! .... [6/14/2020 and now another Black man in Atlanta GA, Rayshard Brooks, has lost his life needlessly, again at the hands of police officers who failed miserably in their attempts to de-escalate what started out as a non-lethal scenario.  Legally, in Georgia a taser is is considered a "lethal weapon."  So some people argue that the officer was justified in shooting Brooks "because he took an officer's taser and attempted to use it on one of the officers."  But let's step back and look at this entire situation through the lens of current events.  This whole scenario started out with a man asleep in a drive-thru, does that seem like someone who posed an imminent danger to anyone?  Brooks was cordial, respectful and responsive to officers right up to the moment when the police officers tried to put the handcuffs on him.  Given recent events and his inebriated state of mind, Brooks may have feared for his very life in the instant when the officers attempted to put the handcuffs on him.  This is most likely why Brooks resisted arrest and then tried to flee.  Brooks probably was not in a full right state-of-mind, given his inebriated state.  Now taking the officer's taser wasn't a smart move either, but that being said and given current events I do not think that the correct response for  Officer Rolfe was to shoot Brooks in the back with a gun as he fled the scene.  Let him run himself out and then attempt to recapture him or use reciprocal force (i.e., another taser), but a gun is above and beyond.  These types of decisions by police officers are what people are up in arms and protesting about.  "To whom much [authority/power] is given, much is expected."]

What we need RIGHT NOW, in America, is strong leadership coming from the very top on down in order to initiate, enact and follow-up on much needed reforms for our police agencies across the nation.  Strong leadership can solve this problem, by finally initiating the tangible top-down steps needed to prevent future senseless loss of human lives.  This in turn will go a long way towards helping to put an end to the current destruction and violence sweeping throughout the major cities of our nation.  I sincerely wish this leadership had come sooner; it should have come sooner, as opposed to the predictable pivots towards self-righteousness and strong-arming in the name of the national defense and upholding 'law and order' ... The latter only served to throw gasoline upon the legitimate spark of injustice, because most people would agree that a 'law and order' which allows for the repeated needless loss of Black Lives is, in truth, no longer the 'law and order' citizens of this nation are willing to support.  We demand leadership and we demand timely tangible, meaningful change that will substantively prevent future needless loss of African American/Black Lives.   If the leadership had been there in the early hours, immediately after the tragic death of George Floyd our cities might not be burning? But, I suppose that it is better to have a much needed leadership late, rather than never?????  You can't start a fire without a spark and some seeking power are using this spark of injustice to set our cities on FIRE in the absence of any true leadership.

Mad World???

Pandemic, economic crises and now violent rioting in the streets across our nation  ... We seem to have hit the trifecta for national unrest and disunity, and just in time for an impending election no less?  Coincidence?  Well, personally, I don't happen to believe in coincidence.  Usually, you follow the money which sad to say often goes hand-in-hand with political power and opportunism, often much to the detriment of the "We the People."

Motive and origin stories aside, the facts on hand are these:  A man, a Black life, is needlessly dead at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Another tragedy, one in the line of many over the past several years and one that should NOT have happened; for this tragedy could have prevented with strong leadership and a unwavering commitment to weeding out individuals who have been shown to exercise repeated poor judgment and egregious behavior in carrying out the duties of their office as "upholders of law and order" in our society.  Every single time these tragic deaths at the hands of rouge police officers happen, the majority of decent law-abiding citizens --from all walks of life and ethnicities-- are truly outraged, not to mention heart-broken at the senseless disregard for  human life.  Everytime such tragic events happen our leaders espouse the same sentiments across the airwaves and media platforms.  These leaders lament the tragic loss of life, while pointing out that the majority of police officers are decent people committed to their sworn oath to "protect and serve" their communities --which is true, but the loss of even ONE human life when preventable, is wholly unacceptable.  These leaders finish their public statements with necessary reaffirmations of their strong commitment to "weed out the bad officers, with a history of questionable judgment and bad actions."  But the fact that George Floyd and so many others keep needlessly dying at the hands of police officers exercising egregious behavior means that we, as a nation, have NOT taken the steps, in a widespread and ongoing concerted effort, needed to get at the root of this problem in our nation's police agencies.

This is why people have taken to the streets in protests, initially peaceful protests ... but since co-opted by those with ulterior, violent and destructive motives that really have little if anything to do with the needless loss of life of a Black man; for how can you protest the needless loos of life of one man by way violently assaulting, injuring and killing other human beings?  There is no "moral arc of the universe" justifying his type of violent and destructive behavior ... 

Now, I keep hearing that there are statistics showing that police agencies across the nation have taken serious steps to address bad behavior and rouge cops.  If that is true, then let us get these number out there for all to see, but unfortunately action speaks volumes louder that mere words or numbers, especially when the action winds up being the senseless loss of a human life at the hands of police officers sworn to serve and protect ALL lives.

What we need right now, is STRONG LEADERSHIP from the very top (i.e., the President of the United States) to say "The loss of life of George Floyd and others like him shouldn't still be happening in our nation.  Previous Presidents and community leaders have not done enough to date to root out these bad cops, as evidences by repeated tragic occurrences in the needless loss of lives. Any needless loss of life at the hands of our police officials is one life lost too many!  As such, my administration is committed to providing the leadership necessary to guide and implement immediate and lasting reforms throughout our nation's police and law enforcement agencies.  This leadership will be spear-headed by Attorney General Bill Barr, who will be heading up a commission to issue timely and effective guidelines for assessing individual officer conduct and behavior, as well as training programs to promote more equitable conflict resolution skills.  It is our sincerest hope that Police Unions across the country will work with us to formulate and implement these guidelines, because at the end of the day doing so will help to present our nation's dedicated men and women in law enforcement in a more favorable light.  Once established, these guidelines will be rigidly enforced, with regional assessments of progress reported back to the AG and his commission over the course of the next two years.  Moving forward, we will have zero-tolerance policy for egregious behavior on the part of rouge cops who do a disservice to our rule of law, to their fellow officers and to their sworn oath to protect and serve the citizens of their communities at large."  Now that would be a real game-changer, wouldn't it?

The time has finally come to respond to the very HEART of this matter, by temporarily relinquishing  the predictable myopic focus of only addressing the FIRE in the house (i.e., violent protesters and looters who have systematically co-opted a legitimate movement of protest).  You can put out the immediate fire, but if you do nothing to substantively address the underlying spark, then the fires will inevitably rise once again, on down the line.  Mr. President and leaders of cities being hardest hit by protests, you can actually walk and chew gum ... Be firm by cracking down on violence, vandalism and looting, while simultaneously addressing the underlying issue ... the spark behind the destructive fires now burning madly across our nation.  We must address the underlying problem behind these protests if we are to have any hope of restoring faith our law enforcement agencies or the over-arching rule-of-law moving forward.  The time has come to stop kicking the can down the road for the next President by taking the timely and immediate action as outlined above.  Timing is everything ....................

My heartfelt sympathy and best intentions are being sent out to the family of George Floyd in this time of loss and mourning.  May God Bless keep and guide you all during this difficult time!


6/23/2020  It kind of surprises me that Congress is taking up writing legislation in an attempt to help prevent future loss of Black Lives.  Not that I think this is necessarily a bad thing, just that I thought Police agencies fell under the jurisdiction of States Rights. As such anything Congress passes with respect to police agencies would not be legally binding, right?  Such legislation would wind up being kind of like optional, highly advisable best-practice guidelines?  That's why I was thinking that guidance and over-arching follow-up would be best coming from the Department of Justice.  I guess, however, at the end of the day Congress does control the "$purse strings$" and they can say, "Hey, States, you either follow our federal guidelines, while demonstrating an on-going compliance, or you're not going to get any federal funding for X, Y and Z."

Thoughts and prayers are with Rayshard Brook's family and friends, who "send him home today" with a home-going celebration.  May God especially Bless, watch over and guide Rayshard's four precious little children that he leaves behind.