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
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.
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.
When someone mentions plantations, what comes to mind? And when you hear the words white privilege, white supremacy, or racism, do they conjure similar images?
A most excellent friend, 
I don’t often open my posts with quotes from the most hated despot in modern history, but there is a method and reason.
It’s Sunday morning, September 12th, the day after the twentieth anniversary of our reintroduction to the real world. Many people miss that point. It didn’t stop the self-flagellation; rather than becoming active participants in that reality, we wrench facts to accommodate our narrative.
When I was young, I admired and respected the president, elected representatives, and authorities. That’s how my parents raised us.
I didn’t get much rest in the past few weeks. The use of fear as a shock collar and instigator is keeping me awake and chaffing me raw. My disgust for this administration and any agency that creates and wields fear to extort control sickens me.
A late in the day text from a most excellent friend suggested this title, and like with so many other of his ideas, this one comes at a perfect time.
I am a long-time resident of Arizona and a combat veteran of Vietnam. I volunteered to serve our country during the 1970s when the convenient and popular sentiment was to protest all things American, especially the war.
Funny, when we fought together there was no such problem because our mutual problem was about keeping each other alive. We were a team with a common goal. We’re home now, and there is no team. We are individuals. We have each other to fight. We have the system to fight. We have the economy and Wall Street, and healthcare, and schools to fight. 
What’s happened to our moral compass? When did we lose our sense of direction? The assertion that this country as not based on Judeo-Christian values is simply not true.
I suppose I am an old-school individual. I believe that face to face conversations and interaction are certainly the most enlightening and edifying. I enjoy the company of several people at the table for meals and even for drinks. I learn and grow from our conversations, which is after the point. In fact, one of my favorite partner’s and companions is my wife. She provides a different perspective and refreshing view of the topic with her feminine and ethnic views.