“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” ~ Seneca

Steps to understanding intent.

What are we looking for?

It’s Sunday morning, October 26th, 2025. The events of the previous several months have been a torrent of data points, allegations, innuendos, accusations, and hypocrisy; an emotional roller-coaster, embellished by some of the finest performative political posturing a person could possibly tolerate.

There was much joyful anticipation about the possible peace in the Middle East and between Ukraine and Russia. Reactions suggest that people view promises as sources of anticipation, influenced by personal aspirations and disappointment when those desires don’t materialize. But we don’t look inward for the root of the dream; we’re being lied to and misled by the mainstream media and their advertising tactics. Continue reading →

I want to begin with a story to illustrate my subtitle. Be patient, you know, I’ll get to the point, eventually…

Are we running out of Time?

Several years ago, I managed a major communications ‘forklift’ improvement project for our power company. I worked with a team of engineers to coordinate their activities and communicate the processes and progress to the stakeholders. Forklift improvements involve the complete dismantling, removal, and replacement of the existing system without interrupting services. This process is typically done in stages, carefully planned, and impeccably executed to minimize business disruption. It requires incredible cooperation, a dedicated team effort, and careful coordination with the business. Piece of cake… Continue reading →

What If… We were on the Highway to Hell?

With libel and outrage, partisan political party specific, of course…

After all, we are at war. And all’s fair in love and war…

This is democracy reimagined, redefined, remitted, but not requested. Continue reading →

     Dickens is ANGRY!

To Whom It May Concern:

Our world and country are in chaos. The partisan political parties battle for control of this republic. Cities are the victims of bad policies, but they re-elect the same type of people to those leadership positions, and there is no end in sight, implying that they don’t want help, have given up, or no longer care.

Our current situation fits Einstein’s definition of insanity perfectly. Continue reading →

By now, you all should know my morning routine, my liaison with coffee and the news. I freely admit that I’m troubled by the ongoing decline in moral standards and the erosion of personal responsibility across this republic.

I’ve written at length about the culpability of the media and the partisan political parties, and how they directly influence what we believe, which reflects on how we act or respond. It’s no longer a partisan issue, but rather a complex contagion of epidemic proportions. Continue reading →

“The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.” ~ James Fenimore Cooper

“Meh… good enough…” [Link]

Creating a culture of rewarding and celebrating conformity in being ordinary.

Unlike Socrates, Mediocrates is not a historically known individual but rather a satirical, fictional “god” or “philosopher” representing mediocrity and the pursuit of average intelligence or skill: Seek not to excel…

Mediocracy: a dominant class consisting of mediocre people, where mediocrity is celebrated and rewarded. Welcome to the herd.

Mediocre: of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.

The Socratic Method encourages argumentative and cooperative dialogue to stimulate critical thinking by posing questions and then responding to them, thereby eliciting ideas and information.

The Mediocratic Method accepts conventional wisdom without question. Continue reading →

Racism like Dracula rises from the grave… AGAIN!

“No matter what the reform or rebrand may imply, Dracula is still a monster, and “racism” is still tyranny.”

I borrowed this opening from my Good Friend Jeff Bennett’s article [link] on The Federal Observer. I adapted it for this column’s sub-heading because it captures the essence of this column succinctly. I encourage you to read the original article and to peruse the site and enjoy Friend Bennett’s work.

The section labeled Sunset Boulevard is of particular interest.

Federal Observer is a large and comprehensive effort intended to inform and awaken the reader. It also contains links to other Bennett sites. You will not be bored, and certainly not disappointed.

Who knows… you might even learn something… Continue reading →

Believe what you will, but at your peril.

Albert Einstein once remarked:

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.”

Hornswoggle – to get the better of someone by cheating or deception. It originally described someone who was embarrassed irretrievably, but we now have a new appreciation for this term… Continue reading →

Bamboozle is a funny-sounding word, but if you’ve ever been bamboozled, it’s not funny at all; in fact, it’s an experience you’ll probably never forget, but not for Merkan’s, we’re bamboozled every hour of every day; so often, in fact, that we no longer recognize it; we’re desensitized, oblivious, and inured.

Bamboozle: to deceive by underhanded means or methods: to confuse, frustrate, throw off wholly and thoroughly, cheat, hoodwink, trick, fool, dupe, perplex, or hornswoggle.

I just spent the last few hours skimming through my posts on the Federal Observer. My goodness, I write a lot. I want to thank my good friend Jeff Bennett for sharing and archiving my work, but I’m not alone there on FO (interestingly, there is an alternate interpretation for those initials ). Jeff has more information on this site than any human could possibly absorb. Not to mention his three other sites, but that’s not the point of this current work, although we all owe Jeff our gratitude for his efforts to make America a better-informed republic.

Shakespeare said it best: “What’s Past is Prologue.”
Continue reading →

But where’s the beef?

The year was 1984, and the fast-food battles were in full swing as purveyors employed every tactic imaginable to discredit one another. The phrase ‘where’s the beef’ became an advertising icon and was used in every possible sense, even straying into the political arena. Even Congress, the opposite of progress, used this catch-phrase…

The phrase implies that something is missing.

The missing component is recognizing and accepting responsibility for words and actions… You know, consequences.

There is a reaction for every action; that’s Newton’s third law. It’s been parsed and rehashed into various phrases like ‘cause and effect’ and ‘Nothing comes from nothing…’ It boils down to actions and reactions. Although Newton’s laws are primarily applied to physics, they also extend to more mundane aspects of life. Continue reading →

Who or what do you trust?

Just look at where we are!

Why is probably the most open-ended indirect question ever posed, yet it’s on my mind constantly. An indirect question is a rhetorical device used to provoke thought or conversation, and it makes an excellent opening for this article.

My formal training leads me to question everything, how to discover answers and possible solutions, and then how to test them. However, the questions I’ve been asking lately don’t seem to have clear-cut answers; they lead to more questions. That’s what I learned outside of the formal arena.

Life is a cruel teacher; after all, she kills all of her students.

Am I asking the wrong questions, or are the answers that ambiguous? Continue reading →

It’s a common practice that when things have gone wrong for too long, the ailing system requires a complete reset. It’s an opportunity to reassess the current process and incorporate changes to address deficiencies or rectify problems. However, when the system is so corrupt and focused on divisive elements rather than its intended goal, it’s time to start over.

That’s a direction we haven’t taken for a very long time as a country; not since 1776, as a matter of fact. Merka seems to prefer the band-aid and cobble approach to everything, but there are only so many patches you can make before the underlying fabric will no longer support them, and the patches hold other patches in place, rendering the original indistinguishable from the changes. You can’t tell where the repairs end and the original begins.
Continue reading →

But I’m near the end and I just ain’t got the time… and I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home

It happens to every society, eventually, and Merka’s next in the queue…

I was unsure of the title for this piece. What-cha-ma-call-it is too vague, and Business as Usual is non-descriptive but true, and I can’t believe what I’m seeing is threadbare and worn out. Truth be told, this is not only a title, but a synopsis of the article, which is what a title should be.

Congressional hearings are like a train wreck, a structure fire, an automobile accident, or a dumpster fire; something compels you to stop, to look, and to watch; you can’t seem to turn away. That’s how I feel about the direction we’re headed after watching these pointless congressional hearings. In my last article, I called them “The Real Housewives of Congress.” Continue reading →

Illegal Immigration & Sanctuary Cities

Go ahead. Tell me I’m wrong.

Today’s Illegal Immigration fiasco is this generation’s slavery, and it’s causing a significant rift today, just like it did in 18th-century America. The prominent difference is that today we excuse violence as an expression of our Constitutional right of Free Speech, rather than the violent insurrection that it is. God forbid we should hurt someone’s feelings by speaking truth, you know ‘tellin it like it is.’ by ‘callin a spade a spade’, and maybe even meet that or meet it in kind. Merka is a nation of Karens.

– The pejorative term “Karen” refers to someone perceived as entitled, demanding, and often using their perceived social status to their advantage, and this behavior is not limited to any particular gender.

If we used reciprocal force, wouldn’t that be protecting their own lives? We are still allowed to do that.

So, unknot your knickers, park your prejudice, and open your minds for a while. Continue reading →

Senator Joseph McCarthy: American hero

Senator Joseph McCarthy’s primary assertion was that communists had infiltrated the US government, particularly the State Department. He famously claimed to have a list of 205 such individuals, although he never provided concrete evidence to support his accusations.

McCarthy’s claims fueled the Red Scare, a period of widespread fear of communist influence in the United States following World War II. His accusations led to investigations, hearings, and blacklists in various sectors, including government, Hollywood, and academia.

While McCarthy’s accusations were never fully substantiated, they did have a significant impact on American society and politics in the 1950s. The Army-McCarthy hearings, which were televised, were instrumental in exposing McCarthy’s tactics and ultimately contributed to his downfall.

Fast-forward to today; there are proudly self-professed, self-identified, and self-confirmed Socialists, Marxists, Communists, and Terrorist Sympathizers in the US Congress, the opposite of progress, leading this republic over a cliff. Continue reading →

Merka’s Kritocracy – Judges are in charge.

                  Heah Come de Judges

In this political cycle, voters elected #47 to lead the Executive Branch of the Republic for four years. But the Radical Democrat appointed judges are blocking his every effort to fulfill his campaign promises with injunctions and restraining orders. Who’s running the country?

Partisan politicians’ weaponization of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to persecute #45, and now #47, has led to the resurrection of an ancient style of government. Merka’s rejiggering of the US Constitution brought forth a new, selective judicial tyranny: the emergence of the Merkan Kritocracy.

This judicial seizure means that Merka is no longer a democracy; it’s now a kritocracy, that is, a system of rule by judges, similar to the one in ancient Israel. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses began the kritocracy before establishing a united monarchy under Saul, as described in the Book of Kings.

Scholars place this date between the 13th and 15th Centuries BCE, which is strangely appropriate in the 21st century. What was once very old, 36 centuries old in fact, is new again. Continue reading →

I’ve been aware of a disturbing contrarian trend for some time, but recently, it’s become more of a religion than an attitude or frame of mind. Religion is the best way I can describe what I see playing out in partisan political arenas. It’s as though we’re reenacting the Crusades of the 11th through the 13th centuries. This time, the armies are the Marxists and the Federalists; the Holy Land is Merka.

The tactics are reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition, only in a suit and tie, performed in congressional chambers, broadcast for the faithful to partake in the Left’s righteous indignation. You’re guilty because we say you are.

Evidence? No problem: we’ll create whatever we need. After all, we own the Black Robed Bandits throughout Merka. It is an example to any who dare challenge the Holy and Almighty American Marxist Party’s viewpoint

How dare you disagree – you know we’re right! Continue reading →

“The Ends Justify the Means” ~ Machiavelli

If the ends truly justify the means, who determines those ends? Is it the meanies?

If the ends justify the means, someone must determine the importance of that end or the goal. If we are willing to forgo morals, ethics, and everything we hold essential to attain that goal, then someone must have set that priority at the highest level imaginable. Transcending righteousness requires an overwhelming cause and sincere consideration before taking any action. Who decides, or are these ends whimsically eccentric? Continue reading →

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How  then will his kingdom stand?” ~ Matthew 12:22

It essentially means that if a group or entity is internally divided and at odds with itself, it will eventually fail. This idea was famously used by Abraham Lincoln in his “House Divided” speech, arguing that the United States, with its division over slavery, could not endure as a nation. Continue reading →

Merkans are deeply fascinated, spellbound by politics, to the point where their attention is completely absorbed and they are unable to think about anything else. It’s a state of intense interest or attraction, often accompanied by a sense of being entranced or captivated.

Why do we tolerate it?

The intro music answers it: America is Mesmerized:

– holding the attention of someone to the exclusion of all else – transfixed

– in a hypnotic or trancelike state; hypnotized

– having the attention completely absorbed; fascinated, captivated, or spellbound

The average person spends roughly 70 minutes daily consuming news and another 143 minutes on ‘not-so’ social media each day. That’s the hold the media has on our society. Continue reading →