About as political as I am going to get.....

How is this so hard to understand?  In the words of Theodore Roosevelt:   

"But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else."

I wonder if Colin Kapernick or any of these other "oppressed" millionaires have ever taken the time to sit down and chat with those that fought for the rights they currently enjoy?  Either the men and women who fought against TRUE Facism in WWII or the men and women of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950's and 60's who risked arrest, attack dogs, fire hoses, and even murder.  My thoughts are no, they can not be bothered to talk to true heroes.   

Ernest T. Bass was truly a man out of time.  I have a "list" of folks I would like to pelt with rocks!!

The finest daily comic strip ever written..

Calvin and Hobbs.  

Bill Watterson, you are a genius and one of my heroes.  

Absolutely Nuts!

That is the sensor right outside the window.  If it is that hot on the outside...all I can say is thank god for double pane glass!!  

Been this way for the last 2 weeks.

Virginia Beach........it is stupid hot.  What is worse is the humidity is sitting about 65% and a dew point of 73 degrees.                    

Hot and sticky!!!

What do these pictures all have in common?

Every one of them would be a blast to sit behind the wheel of and drive/ride!!!

Friday thoughts

The United States of America, as a political construct, was sold to the early population of Americans as panacea to right the wrongs done to them by the British crown.  Whether the Constitution sought to establish those rights for the people or was a ruse in itself to retain control of the population for a powerful elite has been thoroughly debated elsewhere.  

What was established, regardless of intent or purpose, was that in order to be free one must not only possess, but be protected in exerting certain individual rights.  The right to free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to defend oneself with firearms from others or a tyrannical government (in this case a hostile competing ideology), freedom from government forces in out homes, freedom to have papers, effects, and the sanctity of the home free from unwarranted searches and seizures, freedom from being forced to testify against oneself and to enjoy life, liberty, and property unless forfeited by due process of law, freedom from being imprisoned without cause or accused by some anonymous person, freedom to a jury trial of peers, freedom from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments, freedom to enjoy other rights not otherwise listed, freedom of states to exercise rights not otherwise prohibited to them.

The harm done to any of these rights anywhere on the continent harms them all and and for anyone who seeks to exert those rights in the future.  

These rights, once harmed, disappear.


Has anyone, ever, spoken of this country with such love as Ronald Reagan?  Where is he today? Where is his successor?  Who can take up the mantle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-0CBP0NVeo

Red Buttons in 1969, on his national television show, did what today would be considered a "rouge, rebel act" that would be denounced by millions across the country as racist.  He told of his teacher who explained the "Pledge of Allegiance" to him and his classmates.  Such love for this country.  Where has it gone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJNL_rhGDq4

What would these men, the signers of the US Constitution, say about the current state of affairs in this country?

I shamelessly lifted the first statement from https://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/.  It struck something deep inside me that I had to get out.  Something I feel that certain elements of the Nation want to let slip out of our fingers. 


If I get "marked" because of this posting I will be surpried it took them so long to find me!!

Random thoughts of the day

Well, thanks to the Wuhan/Corona/Covid 19 virus, I have been working from home for he last 3 going on 4 moths.  There was a time when I thought "Oh heck yeah!  Send me home.  I can easily do this work from there."  Yes, I can do the work easily from here, but I am at home ALL THE TIME!  I can safely say that I do enjoy the relaxed dress code of working from home, but there is something to be said for getting out of the house everyday. 

To say I have gone stir crazy a couple of times would be an understatement.  Sometimes it involves a very long drive on some useless mission just so I can get out.  I have taken up golf and have a regular Wednesday game.  Could have picked a better time to do it since this week is supposed to be one of the hottest weeks of the year!  Good reason to get a cart this week so I can carry my small cooler of beverages!!

It is even too hot out there for my favorite outdoor activity...camping.  I did go hiking this past weekend with a friend.  12 miles at the local state park.  Did not realize how the heat affected me until I got home.  Wow....not a good feeling.  Took the rest of the day indoors in the A/C. 

Well......that brings you up to speed on life here.  I leave you all with a few thoughts:

When did it become acceptable to blame others for your failings?  I was raised that you and only you are responsible for your actions and the repercussions, both good and bad, of those actions.  

George H.W. Bush parachuted for his 90th birthday.  You are never too old to do those things you have always dreamed of.

SACRILEGE!!  HOW DARE YOU!!!!! 

One day while hiking I thought of the ground I was walking, which made me think of the settlers that first settled the plains of Kansas (where I grew up), which leg me to think of the massive herds of buffalo that once roamed those grasslands, which made me think of a picture I once saw of a man standing in front of a HUGE pile of buffalo skulls........weird how my brain works sometimes!!!!

Scary to think but I think we are well past the time of sitting on the porch discussing our differences.

This is truer than you may want to believe!!!

AMEN!

Fridays Thoughts....Be Safe Out There!

What is the man remembering?  A buddy left "over there"? Does she understand?

Never give up....in the immortal words of Gunnery Sergeant Highway.......

"Don't give the bastards the satisfaction."

Probably posted this one before but it bears repeating.