A jumble of incongruities brought about by media noise and nonsense fragmented last night’s sleep. On the surface, it seems innocuous, but I’m perplexed by an annoying undercurrent that defies naming.
“There’s something happening here.
What it is ain’t exactly clear…”
I read the news today; oh, boy, about the latest spate of new mandates, revised government positions, and fresh allegations of government malfeasance. WTFO? Continue reading
Another sleepless night in a continuum of sleepless nights awash with absurd dreams – It’s early morning. There’s no stopping the torrent of thoughts careening through my mind, so I don’t even try. It’s all a perplexing tangle of knowledge and fear. The enigmatic reports of my overall health and the myriad things left to chance create a vexing presurgery dilemma.
One incessant, persistent thought – You don’t know The Shape I’m In.
You may quantify my physical well-being.
You may estimate my overall health on some scale.
You might even judge me as physically unfit.
What about the other part of me?
What about my mind?
I keep returning to Hippocrates’ assertion that the person and the illness are inextricably joined. He understood that health is holistic – meaning that where the mind goes, the body follows. Recent research proves that mindset has a powerful impact on our health. So says a 2021 study by Stanford University.
Funny, the shape I’m in is coincident with our society and republic. It’s all part and parcel of my uneasiness; as Hippocrates extols the link between patient and illness, I am linked to America – by choice. Continue reading
Another play on words?
Yes, Virginia, there is miss-education.
There was no contest, no interview, and no talent show. Like all the tiny Gen y and z larvae, Miss Education won the trophy for just showing up.
Confused?
So are our children.
Let’s begin with disclosure.
You should all know by now that I am a married man and am best defined as an Objectivist-Libertarian; my religious learnings are mine but decidedly conservative. I find unusual sexual proclivities like homosexuality personally objectionable. While I don’t care about what happens between consenting partners, I am vehemently opposed to exposing any non-adult to what I consider deviant tendencies. Continue reading
Prologue
Titles are introductory pitches that coax you to discover the writer’s intent buried in their text. The idea for this series occurred to me after reading several articles and opinions in an internet information feed. It’s apparent to me that America has no direction. We appear lost in a world of bigger, better, faster efficiency – The Wilderness. We’re at the mercy of our own devices.
We have more but appreciate it less. Which makes us want even more. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
We need direction. Continue reading
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity. … and I’m not sure about the universe.”
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without saying anything.”
“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
How long will we make the same mistakes with our government before realizing that our approach is not working? That where we are right now, where we’re going is in the wrong direction.
America, what else do you need to see, to realize that we are being bamboozled? Continue reading
I’ve been on this rock circling the sun more than 25,880 times.
I’ve been to war.
I’ve been wounded emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
I’ve loved and lost.
I’ve seen death, and I’ve witnessed the miracle of birth.
I’ve made mistakes, but I’d like to think I’ve learned from them.
I have very few regrets.
My view is from ground level. ~ Cogito, ergo sum. What?
Are you so high up on your mountain that you can’t see through the clouds?
So high up that details are indistinguishable, and the landscape looks like a multi-colored cut-pile carpet?
Are we pieces on the chessboard of your soaring aspirations? Continue reading
In 1966 an experimental musician named Frank Zappa recorded Freak Out, the first of many albums. This recording contains a cut called – The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet. It’s here – if you dare sample it. Like I said – experimental.
The recording (below) has nothing to do with this post, except I realized a variation of the title would make an excellent post when I awoke this morning. Only a few old-fart musicians will appreciate the simile.
Another Cold War is just what America needs right now… Continue reading
Many, many years ago, I dated a Cajun woman, a fiery green-eyed red-head with an astounding skill to turn a colloquial phrase.
Maybe it was the translation from Creole French to English and the idiomatic nuances involved. It’s a subtlety I’ve noticed when the verb precedes the subject in other languages.
It initially sounded backward, but then, I never misunderstood or lost the intent. I derived today’s title from her comment when referring to the past.
She’d say – “it used to was.”
I appreciate the expressive economy in this style of phrasing. There is no confusion between the insect or the state of existence.
I’ve co-opted this phrase to mean – Has Been, as in, “a used to was.” Continue reading
We are isolated from the world by a government that controls our information. We don’t know what’s happening at home or globally, we don’t see how this country really works, and we don’t understand how it all interrelates. It’s all filtered and groomed to present the appropriate messages. We don’t know, and we don’t seem to care if it’s real or if it’s Memorex as long as it sounds good.
Even a casual scan of the news will tell you everything they deem necessary, nothing superfluous. Headlines and stories are carefully filtered and craftily worded to send the right message – the message they want us to hear, delivered by their messenger of choice, the politically partisan press. Continue reading
It’s been too good for too long.
We’ve grown complacent, lazy, and fat – societally and physically.
It’s how we treat the remains of what we once had. Continue reading
Ideas for my writing projects come from the strangest places. I’ve been considering a multitude of topics for several days. This idea snuck in with my first sip of coffee this morning.
I’d been considering a myriad of titles for this piece, but none of them seemed to convey the inanity. Dystopian authors don’t even stretch the limits of neglect and shortsightedness that we have in America. Continue reading
In 1940 Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart wrote “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” for a Broadway play titled Pal Joey, and although the lyric doesn’t track my sentiment for this post, the title of this fantastic song hits the target dead center.
The prose is about unrequited love and resulting melancholy. This post is about my incredulity: I’m bothered and bewildered – America is bewitched! Continue reading
Since the end of the War of Northern Aggression, American’s have been conflicted. When this nation armed itself to proclaim that ‘might makes right,’ even at home, we entered a perpetual battle for our country. The actors change, but not the stakes. This civil war fractured this country irreparably. Just as then, the ultimate goal is control, and the DemoSocs are about to have it all. Continue reading
“The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes.”
The introductory quotes are from Uncle Adolph, who most people despise, but I admire his ability to bend everyone to his way of thinking. I agree that he was a monster, but brilliant nonetheless. I chose these quotes for a reason I hope will become clear as you read.
I consider Hitler the progenitor of our modern politically partisan press – our lame-stream media. He also pioneered the most powerful mass-marketing process with his Landsmann Heir Goebbels. Together they crafted a diabolically professional and efficient propaganda machine that rationalized the murdered over eleven million Jews and ethnic misfits to further his ‘unification’ programs.
Before us today, we have a few instances that raise my YGBSM meter past Eleven. All of last year’s debacles are trivial in comparison. This all leads us to the inevitable fact that our government is not just morally bankrupt but wiping its feet on the constitution by intentionally disregarding our laws. All because they are inconvenient and impede their progress to further their unification agenda. Continue reading
China vs. America – A not-so social media post quoting Bill Maher made me consider our leadership style in America. I include a transcript of Mr. Maher’s program below – without permission – for context and clarity.
I find Mr. Bill Maher snarky and smarmy, but he makes perfect sense from time to time.
I believe the following transcript is one of his best monologues.
Why are Americans sleeping? We aren’t sleeping; we are spending our time enabling little boys to become little girls!!! We have the Sec of Defense, responding to an order from the ‘commander in chief,’ designing stylish new uniforms for pregnant ‘soldiers’ and developing racial and gender equity programs. Continue reading
I’m calling this article “Chicken & Waffles,” which seems appropriate since no one has the chutzpah to take control of this situation and because of the flip-flops on a Wuhan course of action. The America I love would not allow this to continue, but alas, that America is gone.
My alternate title is “The Bipolar Boogie” because of the nearly solid rhythmic frequency of the releases and reversals about the Wuhan pandemic. But we’re all groovin’ to the same lie.
America and the world are in flux – constantly changing and still held hostage by this lie. We struggle to break free, to find a way out, but a new variant pops up, and we’re back in the gulag.
Strange how that continues to happen… Boogie On! Continue reading
Once upon a time, in the 16th Century, a French apothecary called Nostradamus used a strange process to predict the future. He’d enter a trance-like state and transcribe his visions – prophecies – into a bazaar four-line prose. Most folks found it unintelligible, but what they could decipher was usually wrong.
His record – 11 hits for 942 predictions.
Forecasting the future is a brutal way to make a living because the fulfillment of your prophecies isn’t revealed for years, decades, and sometimes centuries. Fortunately, like another seer in this commentary, Nostradamus was a very wealthy man. Continue reading
SASSOFERRATO, Baroque painter, 1609-1685
Leadership by example has been drilled into me since I was a small child. My father instilled this in us, so I learned to do what I say. People follow a leader they can believe. Dad was a career Marine Drill Instructor at Camp Le Jeune until he retired. He died in 2016; I’m glad he never saw what we’ve done to our country.
A cursory examination of religious leaders and their teachings embodies this ethic as a central tenet. They all espouse the leadership by example principles following the precedent set by a central figure. Until recently, America extolled the merits of example-based leadership, although elected leaders of the past few decades are the antithesis of the practice and principle. Continue reading
Too much of our lives are spent worrying and precious little doing. We are concerned about the future and things over which we have absolutely no control, but that doesn’t stop our need to kibitz and become involved in other people’s or countries’ problems. We’ll invest trillions of words, hours, and dollars fretting about stuff.
There are, however, things that require our total concentration and concerted efforts. Things here in America demand our immediate attention. If we ever hope to influence the world, we must do it through our leadership – by example – not dictates or demands.
You know how I feel about the media if you’ve followed my posts. Their parasitic, self-perpetuating relationship with misinformation, disinformation, and deception makes them the entourage and champions of corruption. As long as there are problems and crises, they can feed their corporate coffers. Continue reading
Never before have I seen a president so willing to abandon, no – fuck an entire country to follow his deluded crusade to secure his legacy. His Don Quixotesque quest to correct Mother Nature borders on lunacy and religious zealotry. He is a danger to himself and America. He should be confined.
In January of 2021, someone appointed Bungles the Clown and Giggles to front for the cabal. The Bungles the Clown and Giggles shit-show began entertaining America and the world eleven months ago with their ludicrous political decisions and idiotic ideas.
Even though expectations for the duo were dizzying, their performances so far leave the world and America wondering, WTF? Their pairing would be perfect if not for their narcissism, but that describes nearly everyone in the DC Swamp. Continue reading