Monday, August 29, 2016

After 65 Years I Still Haven't Figured Out What I Want to Be

Good Day World!

Growing up, I thought I wanted to be Davy Crockett. Then Wyatt Earp. Then John Wayne.

Each new idol only lasted a short time before I was moving on in search of another. Audie Murphy. Elliot Ness. 

(Pssstttt...I always wanted to play for the LA Lakers)

The names came and went throughout my busy childhood like borders in a hotel.

My desire to grow up and "be something" wasn't overwhelming. I really didn't like to think about the prospect of having to work regularly at anything. Okay, I was lazy.

In grade school teachers would ask students what they wanted to be. I always went out of my way to come up with some shocking profession...to the delight of the class.

"What do you want to be Davy?" my third-grade teacher once asked.
"A grave digger," I replied, while keeping a straight face.

The class broke out into peals of laughter as my teacher tried to gage if I was serious or not. Hell, for all she knew my dad was a grave digger.

I use to love to play with my little plastic Army men in the backyard. I'd dig little foxholes and set them up for hours, while my fevered brain imagined being a hero in a battle.

Perhaps when I walked into an army recruiter's office in 1969, I was still that little kid who thought war was glorious. There was no reasoning for what I did. Maybe I was bored and wanted to see the world.

It didn't take long to know that I didn't want to be in the Army. But it was too late. They sent me to Vietnam. Somehow  I survived.

I was given an honorable discharge (Tricky Dick's signature was on it) in 1971. Believe me when I say I had no idea of what I wanted to be (or do) back then.

Became a newspaper man in the following years. An editor, and a publisher. After two decades my PTSD got the better of me. Haven't been able to work since.

I just can't figure out who I want to be. Someone famous? Someone known for their good heart? What will my grandchildren and their children remember about me?

Still looking for a title, and I suspect I always will be. I ponder my legacy daily, and let my natural curiousity be my guide. Research and share.

For now, I'm a junkyard dog digging through books and the internet. Sniffing out stories and facts like a good bloodhound.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Memo To Colin Kaepernick: Play Politics On Your Own Time, It's Time To Play Football!

Good Day World!

Word to 49ers fans; your quarterback Colin Kaepernick sucks!

Instead of concentrating on holding his job as his stock diminishes, Kaepernick has decided to play politics in what should be a no-politic zone - football.

I'm sick and tired of rich athletes protesting about shit. They get paid more money than the majority of Americans and the least they can do is separate football (or any other sport) from political rhetoric and grandstanding.

Get this straight Kaepernik; I watch football to have a good time. All the rest of the world's bullshit is stacked outside the door for another time.

So, don't sit your politically correct ass down every game this season. Stand up for the National Anthem. You don't have to sing along or anything, just stand so controversy doesn't ruin America's favorite sport.

Keep your world view to yourself. I don't care. You want to be an activist? That's fine. Do it on your own time.

I'm not watching the 49er's play this season to join a parade of Black Lives Matters activists. Just do what your paid for. 

Your sorry ass will eventually be benched anyway, because you are a crappy quarterback! 

Until then, I'll be watching the new LA Rams make history.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Saturday, August 27, 2016

How An Accused Sexual Predator Is Getting Away With Creating Worldwide Chaos

Good Day World!

I know it's been said before, but truth can be stranger than fiction.

For example:

There's an accused rapist/sexual predator hiding out in an Ecuadorian embassy in downtown London, who has devoted his life to creating worldwide chaos.

Sweden has been trying to extradite Julian Assange for questioning about rape allegations and sexual molestation (2 counts) since 2010. His accusers are still waiting for justice.

Meanwhile Assange (a criminal hacker who has been convicted on 25 charges in 1996) has gone on a tear, releasing hacked data from countries worldwide and creating chaos.

This year he's trying to upset our presidential elections by releasing anything he can find about Hillary Clinton. While he hasn't publicly admitted it, Assange is a Trump supporter because Trump represents chaos.

Perhaps most known for creating Wikileaks in 2006, Assange has developed a cult following. 

Even his biggest supporters however, like Glenn Greenwald, are starting to distance themselves from him because of all the innocent people who have been swept up in his mass data releases.

Think about that for a moment. The world is trembling because a hacker/sexual predator/anarchist wants to create chaos in the name of transparency (his version).

Fiction doesn't get any stranger than that. If this was a movie, I suspect it would be a blockbuster.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday, August 26, 2016

Now Tell Me, 'Why Do You Watch Fox News Again?'

Good Day World!

If you follow Fox News I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Is that okay?

Me: Why do you watch Fox News?
Follower: For fair and balanced news coverage.
Me: I see. Like Sean Hannity?
Follower: Yeah.
Me: Here's the latest in Fox News embarrassment about Sean Hannity.

Me: What do you like about Fox News?
Follower: It's family values.
Me: Oh, I see. What about former Fox news host Andrea Tantaros?
Follower: What about her?
Me: She's sueing former network chief Roger Ailes and other top executives for sexual harassment - a poor reflection on family values don't you think?
Follower: I didn't hear about that. Are you sure that's true?
Me: Go to a real news channel and you'll see. You might even pick up a newspaper.

Me: What do you think about Global Warming?
Follower: It's a liberal hoax.
Me: A Standford University study has found "more exposure to Fox News was associated with more rejection of many mainstream scientists' claims about global warming, and with less trust for scientists."
Follower: I don't trust scientists' because they're all liberals.
Me: All of them? Climatologists and scientists?
Follower: No doubt about it. Fox says it's so.
Me: Okay. Thanks for stopping by.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Chicago (And America) Is Losing The War Against Domestic Terrorists

Good Day World!

Things weren't this bad in Chicago since Al Capone ruled the roost there.

Just last weekend there was a 14-hour stretch of violence that left one person shot in the city every 33 minutes, according to the Chicago Tribune. The total count for the weekend; 4 killed, and 35 wounded.

Regardless of Donald Trump's crazy claim to end the violence in one week by letting police get "tougher" on crime, it isn't going to happen.

Consider: There's one hundred gangs (aka domestic terrorists) in Chicago. If that isn't reason enough to be worried, things have gotten considerably worse in the last year.

Some startling statistics according to Chicago police:

* There's been more than 2000 shooting incidents so far this year - a 48 percent increase over the same period last year and a 73 percent spike from the same period two years ago.

* Killings in Chicago have shot up more than 300 percent compared with this time last year.

What's happening in Chicago? National headlines faithfully give regular body counts. It reminds me of Vietnam. That's about all the recognition the dire situation in Chicago seems to warrant however.

Americans are obsessed with foreign terrorists. Meanwhile we turn a blind eye on our domestic terrorists. Americans are being shot down like cattle in Chicago every week (and across the nation) and people are worrying about ISIS.

Maybe we ought to start worrying about what's actually happening here in America.

There's no national headlines about sucesses in fighting the gangs because Chicago is losing the war.

It's like the rest of America has turned it's back on a major city that has become more dangerous than a third world country at war.

Chicago isn't the only city in America that has domestic terrorists (aka gangs). There's over 33,000 gangs and an estimated 1.5 million gangbangers roaming the cities and rural areas.

If we want to make America safe again then we better take it back from the domestic terrorists who are threatening our lives daily.

That calls for a detailed plan of action.

Related:
10 of the most lethal gangs in America


Time for me to walk on down the road...

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Foundation Firmed Up For Future Fibbers Running For President of The United States

Good Day World!

American politics have been reduced to a walk through the Valley of Lies.

You better get use to liars, because that's all we're ever going to elect as President of the United States from now on.

Two world-class liars contending for the White House this election are the foundation for a future of fibbers who are judged on the volume of lies they tell, as opposed to their lying opponent.

Outright lies have been outed this year, but they're being overlooked as partisans stick to their party brands. With the help of social media those lies are repeated so often that they become reality in some people's minds.

The point is, lies won't stop our future presidential candidates from being elected. Once upon a time it wasn't like this. 

One reason why is that every minute detail of a person's life is under incredible scrutiny from multiple sources...and who hasn't lied at one time or another in their life?

Americans know a liar is going to be the next president. We have settled for what the parties have given us, and sunken into the slim of hateful rhetoric that will decide this race.

Is there a politican somewhere in America that hasn't lied? I don't know.

I do know that it's going to be virtually impossible to find a candidate to run for the presidency who hasn't publicly, or privately, lied about something.

Sadly, I can't see this trend reversing itself. I do think however we should make a title change for our new president - Liar-In-Chief.

What do you think?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

English 'Bobbies' Control Crime Without Guns - What's America doing Wrong?

Good Day World!

Gun control in England is not controversial. Check it out for yourself.
(London's bobbies have traditionally been armed with nothing other than batons. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images file)

England has one of the lowest rates of gun homicide in the world.

Members of the public may own sporting rifles and shot guns, subject to licensing, but handguns were effectively banned after the Dunblane school massacre in 1996.

So what are American authorities doing wrong? Why is our country one of the worst in the world when it comes to gun homicides?

America's police force is becoming increasingly militarized, the British tradition of unarmed "bobbies-on-the-beat" has endured.


The statistics surrounding police shootings in the U.K. are startling when compared to the U.S.
  • Officers in England and Wales fired just seven bullets between March 2015 and this March. (Not including accidental shots, shooting out tires, or putting down dangerous or injured animals.)
  • During that period, just five people were shot dead by police in England and Wales, according to British charity Inquest, which helps families after police-related deaths.
  • Police Scotland — tasked with guarding 5.3 million people in an area the size of Maine — reports only one officer-involved shooting since the national force was created in 2013.
  • In London, the Metropolitan Police has fatally shot just 10 people in the past 10 years.
U.S. law enforcement officials have this year killed 693 people and counting,according to figures compiled by The Guardian.
The U.S. is addicted to guns. Americans love their guns. The National Rifle Association stays busy bribing congressional members to not vote for gun control.
Is it that we're not as civilized as we'd like to think? Let's face it, our society is so violent that no one feels safe anymore. Regardless of how many guns they have.
America has entered an era where chaos reigns in all aspects of our lives. Our politicians are frozen in partisan battles while the country's infrastructure crumbles.
In our world it's shoot first, ask questions later.
So how do those bobbies manage to control crime without guns? 
It's simple. Gun control works in England because the people buy into a philosophy much less violent than ours.
Imagine this; the bobbie's prime tool for defusing any situation or conflict is always talking to someone.
Instead of reaching for a gun like our cops, they use a studied approach that seldoms ends in death for either party - cop or criminal. 
The sad thing is American cops can't go without guns because the entire country is heavily armed - from criminals to law-abiding citizens.
You can't bring a batton to a gun fight. 
In conclusion; American society is no better than a third world country mired in hate and gun violence. Make sure to thank the NRA and the gun and ammo industries...they've effectively reduced us to violent savages.
Time for me to walk on down the road...

Monday, August 22, 2016

Seeking Common Sense In A Stressed-Out Society

Good Day World!

Where has common sense gone? 

Was there ever any in our society?

I stalk the headlines of major newspapers and magazines daily, seeking examples where people have used common sense in solving problems. 

It's a barren landscape out there in the American hinterlands and cities. 
The lack of common sense has manifested itself in two of the most unpopular presidential candidates for major political parties in U.S. history.

How could anyone with common sense have let this happen? 

Look to the stresses in our society - racial unrest and a disappearing middle class - and how they evoke visceral emotions that cloud common sense.

With all the experts in our society why isn't there a correlation between schooling and common sense? 

I've known people with master degrees that lack basic common sense, and people with high school educations (or GED equivalents) that are well grounded in common sense.

As Victor Hugo suggested, "Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education."

Here's a column I wrote for the Times-Standard newspaper in Eureka, California, three years ago talking about common sense.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Questions You May Find Odd...Or Not

Good Day World!

Some quick questions:

Can you hear it?

That deep sucking sound of civility collapsing like a deflated balloon in our society?

Can you see it?

Racism. The great divide that continues to expose gaping canyons in the American Dream?
The "Haves" and "Have Nots" experiencing further separation every year?

Can you feel it?

A growing fear gnawing at you brain's frontal lobe, like a rat chewing off it's leg to escape a trap, that you are not safe anymore?

Can you taste it?

The bitter pill that comes with having to pick either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump at the voting booth? Does the taste of bile rise from your gut in protest at what's happened this presidential election cycle?

Can you imagine it?

A time of ethics, morality, and truth in our electoral system? Safeguards installed to make sure we never see another presidential candidate like Donald Trump?

Do You Have Nightmares?

Of domestic and foreign terrorists dancing through your dreams like obscene ballerinas packing modified AR-15's?

If any of these questions

Spark a constructive conversation between you and a friend (or stranger), then my day will be complete. Peace.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Why The War On Marijuana Continues Despite Research Showing It's Benefits

Good Day World!

The Obama Administration, and the DEA, refused to reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 - right alongside heroin, LSD, and Meth, to a lesser classification last week.

Again.

The War On Weed has continued during President Obama's two terms. Facts bear that out.

This most recent refusal is just the same refrain coming from Congress and President Obama..."more research needs to be done" was the hypocritical reason given for not rescheduling it and ending the farce.

Oh, really? I'd like to point out the following links as just a sampling of the research that's been going on for over two decades:

60 Peer-Reviewed Studies On Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Research: What The Research Shows

Marijuana and Your Health: What 20 years of Research Reveals

So what's spurring this apparent hypocrisy among the ruling powers?

Remember when Wikileaks released information that was hacked from the DNC? The leak revealed a damning connection with Big Booze.

Inside the leak was an email from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America which spread the idea that marijuana was causing more traffic accidents and fatalities than ever before.

The message was that weed was bad and needed to be regulated more, not less. 

The alcohol industry has a massive issue with drunk driving, so it makes sense that they would want to turn the heat of that pressure somewhere else.

There's more to this issue than just the alcohol industry's attacks. 

Big Pharma is afraid of cannabis. 

The pharmaceutical and alcohol industries both have powerful lobbying influences in Washington, They have long lobbied against cannabis legalization in order to protect their profits. 

This study has both industries shaking because it shows that 87% of those surveyed have replaced prescription drugs, alcohol, and other substances with marijuana.  

The War On Marijuana will continue, not for the people's benefit (as this most recent ruling proves), but for the benefit of a corrupt administration and Congress.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...