Swaying With The Wind

I'm watching this Virginia Governor's race closely and I'm pleased with the big change in the polls there.

You KNOW that McAuliffe is looking at these polls and his head is spinning. He MUST realize that he stepped on his poncho when during the debate he took the stand that parents have no say in how schools teach their kids. He no doubt wishes he could turn back the clock and erase that comment.

But I wonder... and this is the thing that most bothers me about politicians today:
What are his real feelings on the matter? When he made those comments did he mean them, or did he just make them because his advisors told him at the time they'd be popular?
What are his principles?

I fear his "principles" are poll driven.
How many times these days do politicians say one thing, then later contradict themselves because they want to say whatever will get them elected?

Our Founding Fathers were willing to die for their beliefs.
Today's warriors willingly take an Oath to defend our Constitution with their lives if necessary.
Politicians today are willing to say whatever it takes to stay ahead in the polls. Constitution? It's a "Living Document" that says whatever makes us comfortable today.

Folks like Will Rogers used to hold pols feet to the fire.
Media today just wants to get in bed with lefties.
And our country slowly but surely sinks into Marxism.

I'm just glad I'm not gonna pay for this crap for years and years and years.

Build Backward Better !

The Biden administration is now being compared to Jimmy Carter's disaster. And by the time Biden is no longer occupying the Oval Office we may wish he had been as (in)competent as Jimmah.
Reagan asked, "Are you better off today than four years ago?"
Help me.
WHO is living better today than when SloJoe took office?
Maybe our Public School teachers?

Korea is a problem.
China is now a problem.
Iran is a burr 'neath our saddle.
Our Southern Border no longer exists.
Everything made with petroleum is more expensive, and Putin/Russia, whose number one export is oil, is absolutely LOVING the increase in oil prices.
And our staunch allies have lost faith in the U.S..

Biden's "Build Back Better" campaign is a stupendous failure.
And he's not nearly as entertaining as Orange Man.

Ants And The Grasshopper, Again.

Medicare, Medicare, Medicare!
Free dental. Free vision. Free transportation.
And get $144 added to your Social Security check!!
All you have to do is call and give us your Zip Code.

I'd like to have an additional $144 per month, so I called.
And as you might expect, my income is too high to receive these benefits.
IF I had not PLANNED to be comfortable at this stage of my life, I could get all this free stuff from my Uncle Sam.
Free?
I'm one of the ants.
That $144 is coming outta MY hide.

What, me worry?

 

He's from a small midwestern town so I had high hopes he'd be normal.
He ain't.
(And I wonder how old ya have to be in order to understand my title?)

Alec Baldwin

We peons will be getting gun safety advice from Alec Baldwin in 5...4...3...2...

"Diabeet-eez" Or "Diabeet-us"?

"If you don't change your diet you will be a full-blown diabetic when you return for your next visit", said the VA dietician.
Our local VA has been VERY thorough about poking, prodding, and investigating what is going on with my "possibly" Agent Orange tainted body. They draw blood, command me to pee in a small container, check my height, weight, blood pressure, and O2 saturation, then analyze all that stuff and send a readout on everything to my consulting physician. She's a VERY thin Pakistani lady. (Don't tell her I said so, but she reminds me of Margaret Hamilton in her most famous role, only she's not green.)
She's also very thorough, and is quick to chastise me for not taking proper care of myself.
"How many alcoholic drinks do you consume per day?"
"Three or four."
"WHAT?!", responds the Muslim woman.

My most recent visit to the VA proved the dietician was prescient. And Margaret Hamilton quickly prescribed insulin injections, (which I have so far avoided using because I'm in denial.)

But Sara Jean and I HAVE now been looking at ways to dramatically change my diet. We've been watching "Keto friendly" foods on YouTube to see what stuff I need to buy to lower my/our carb intake.
Some of the stuff sounds mighty exotic-
Guar gum?
Xanthum gum?
Maltodextrin?
Sugar alcohols? (Wasn't alcohol one of my problems?)

I MUST change.
The thing that scares me most is loss of my eyesight, which has been almost "hawk-like" my entire life.
Loss of the ability to read or do work on small objects would destroy me.

I've always been a disciplined guy.
Making these changes will be expensive, and an interesting journey.
Stand by. I'll keep ya posted.

And if you have any constructive suggestions, I'd sure appreciate them.

Let's Go Brandon!

Cargo ships stacking up in our ports-
Our president(ish) is trying to destroy China's economy.
Yeah. That's the ticket!

"Unifying" Our Nation

Racist.
I may be called a racist by some reading this post.
I don't care. It IS my truth.

I was a little uncomfortable when Don Cornelius' "Soul Train" hit my TV screen back in the 70's..
The program was devoted virtually entirely to music put out by black performers.
Bill Cosby had just started his "Black is beautiful" campaign and I fully understood that. So Soul Train didn't rankle me too much. I didn't watch it. I watched programs that featured both black, white, and mixed groups and performers that produced music I enjoyed. Art is in the eye and ear of the beholder, and I could enjoy The Temptations AND Three Dog Night without being reminded of race.

But things are different today, aren't they?
"Black Lives Matter"?
Of course they do. But folks carrying signs that "All Lives Matter" were ridiculed and sometimes beaten up.
Black Lives Matter.
We MUST make that point.

Now... we have the Congressional Black Caucus.
The National Negro College Fund.
The NAACP.
Black Entertainment TV.
The Black News Network.
Affirmative Action.
I cannot remember its title, but there's a cable channel devoted to movies devoted to black people.

I'm torn.
On one hand I can understand the pride in the accomplishments of Black people. But on the other hand I fully understand that what we now accept as normal is driving a wedge between people.
And that scares me.

Tell me please what I am missing here, and comfort me.
Because I now really fear for my country.

The "New Normal"

Stopped at one of our more local McDonald's last week. The interior of the store had undergone a minor reorganization. There was no one at the front counter. Three new two-sided kiosks had been installed in front of what used to be the front counter "for our convenience" so we could place our order without having to deal with some contaminated human being.
I stood and waited for someone to help me. A young woman of High School age finally asked if she could, then acted insulted when I wanted to place my order with her.
I guess I could have submitted my order ahead of time on my smart phone... IF I had one.

I DO NOT like the direction this is headed.

Global Warming, er... Global Cooling, er... Climate Change!

I need someone smarter than me to answer these questions:

How do we get China and India to stop screwing Gaia? They need to stop building/using coal-fired powerplants.

How do we get lefties to quit flying all over the world to scold us about the carbon footprint while they add to the problem in their big, personal jets?

When will we start doing away with unnecessary 4-way stops on our streets so traffic can save fuel by proceeding unhindered?

Perspective

Our world is swamped these days with abbreviations. I was reading one of my favorite news sites and the headline contained the letters RW.
And I immediately thought, "Rotary Wing".

I'm sure you did not.

Compression Ignition

Starting my Ram truck with its Cummins diesel engine was getting to be an "ifffy" proposition. This engine requires a lotta juice and requires TWO BIG batteries to get the job done. The last few starts have been... interesting.
Getting my son moved into his new digs required use of the truck. When I arose on Columbus Day in Tennessee the truck would not start... turn the key to start... and all ya hear is "CLUNK".
I assumed bad batteries. (And we all know how to spell "assume" don't we?)

I removed both big batteries, put them in the trunk of son's car, and started for the auto parts store to have them checked. A mile and a half into this trip the engine in my son's car quit.
Just died. And would not start.

I walk the 1-1/2 miles back to his home and call AAA. They need us to be present at the car with keys and ID in order to tow it. The truck is kaput, so the only option to get back to the car (with my truck's batteries in the trunk) is via my son's motorcycle. We try to start it and find he has left the bike's ignition in the ON position.
That battery is also dead.

And then?
Sara Jean drops a pipe on her foot, lacerating it badly, gushing blood all over the brand-spanking-new carpeting in the closet.

I force myself to remember that Job had it worse.

"California Dreamin'" Is A Nightmare?

So the Crazy State is outlawing landscaping equipment powered by internal combustion engines in order to reduce pollution, forcing everyone to replace that stuff with electric powered apparatuses?
Don't they already have "rolling blackout" problems because they can't supply their citizens with electricity now?
How's that gonna work?
And this doesn't even address the issue of what fuel is used to produce the electricity.
I'm gobsmacked.

Living on that left coast sure makes you think differently.

Drafted. And Served.

I graduated High School in 1965.
It was a different world then.
(I think today we live in "Bizarro World", actually.)
I wanted to be a pilot. None of the services would consider me for a flying job without a college education, except the ARMY.
The U.S. Army offered me something called the "Warrant Officer" program.
I didn't want to be "almost" an Officer. I wanted to be a full-fledged, Commissioned Officer.
So I waited to be drafted.
And after drafting me, the ARMY saw the error in its ways.

What a different era that was! Viet Nam was exploding. Those of us in the ARMY knew the likelihood of us serving in Viet Nam was high. Those of us going to Rotary Wing Flight School knew the likelihood of going to Viet Nam was overwhelming.
But we accepted that fact with a smile.

And stood in line for our vaccinations.
In Basic Training I cannot tell you how many times I stood in line so some Specialist E-4 that had SIGNED UP for ARMY service, used an air gun to inject chemicals into my upper arm.
But it was a LOT. And I was drafted and a slave.
So I had no choice in the matter.

And the funny part?
At the time I actually thought my government had my best interest truly at heart.

Yeah, it was a different world then.

Unconstitutional.

Does the word "Unconstitutional" have any meaning these days?
Obama said he could not pass the DACA bill because it was unconstitutional. Then a few weeks later, under political pressure from the left, added his name to the bottom of the bill.
The result?
Crickets.

Our Constitution was written to severely limit the power of government over us.
But now? Karen says we must do these things because the "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". And many of our military and Law Enforcement leaders are not willing to face the political opposition necessary to stop this socialist progress.

"A Republic madam, if you can keep it", said Benjamin Franklin.
To which "Karen" replies... "but I want"...

I fear the tree of liberty will be refreshed, soon.

Fright Nights!

I'm sure it's true where you are too-
"Spook Houses" pop up this time of year here. Some of them are really major productions and attract large crowds.
We like to be frightened.

In my hometown of Indianapolis while I was growing up we had competing hosts showing horror and science fiction shows on our local TV stations-
"Selwin" on our CBS affiliate, and "Sammy Terry" on our independent channel. Both shows were broadcast late-night on Saturdays. As a kid, they sometimes actually scared me.
And I loved 'em.

"Svengoolie" is a similar show to the ones I watched as a kid that started in Chicago some years ago and, now syndicated, is broadcast nationwide. I record and watch them because they're campy and make me feel like I'm ten years old again.

But as adults we seem to have other things we like to be frightened about:
Y2K.
SARS.
Covid-19.
People without masks.
And people wearing red hats.

I'm hearing School Board meetings might be worthwhile too.
I'll let ya know.

Redundancies, and Pet Peeves-

Listening to my local radio broadcast I hear the small town Mayor say, "We're meeting at 9 A.M. in the morning."
(I guess that's to clarify the meeting is NOT at 9 A.M. in the evening!)

Another irritation I used to hear over the radio during my EMS flying:
"He has a past history of..."
(As opposed to his future history I suppose.)

Yeah, my feathers are ruffled WAY too easily.

Passing That Law May Be Easy. But Enforcing It?

It's one of my favorite stories:
General Douglas MacArthur was Governor of Japan following WWII. During his tenure there one of his Aides came to him and asked-
"General, the Japanese men are upset because the Japanese women are dating GI's. Our GI's have money to spend, and the Japanese women are glad to help them spend it.
Don't you think it would be a good idea to forbid our men from dating Japanese women?"
The Aide was surprised when the General responded, "Absolutely not. Our men will ignore such a regulation. Ignoring an unenforceable regulation will lead to ignoring other regulations. That's not a road I want to travel."
Smart man.

Seems to me the Biden administration has started down a road passing laws the people will ignore.

How's that "War on Drugs" goin', Joe?

Spinning Wheels

Life is full of surprises, isn't it?
And dealing with Covid has added many.

Retired Army.
My bride and I both carry government issued ID cards. We must present them when we enter a military facility to patronize the Post Exchange, Commissary, or Medical facility.
They have an expiration date and, like your Driver's license, must be renewed periodically. Sara Jean's ID card expired 30 September. So yesterday we made the trek to the closest facility that can renew it for us, about 60 miles distant. It's not a bad drive... it's just a little over an hour. With fuel and other expenses these days I calculate a drive like this in overall cost: fuel, and wear/tear on our vehicle.
I estimate this 120 mile round-trip probably costs close to $60 total.

We set off early so we could get the card renewed, then go for a leisurely lunch before shopping at the Exchange and Commissary.  We arrived at the proper office to a surprise- The place was packed with people.
We walked to the reception desk and announced what we needed.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, we do not."
"Would you like to make one? We can see you next week at..."

So we went shopping.
And we were glad the trip was not TOTALLY wasted.