Sermo Datur Cunctis; Animi Sapientia Paucis – Remind you of Anyone?

Exclamation MarkDistichia Moralia provides with keen wisdom the following, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.”  After the European trip of US President Joe Biden, intelligence is in short supply in the White House, the staff, and of course, the US Media!  Would someone please tell me how so many can say so much, yo-yo’ing from one point to another, and still make no sense?  Honest question, the other day someone told me the patients were running the asylum, and I countered no, the clowns took over the circus.  Both sentiments are accurate, but I detest clowns, and mental patients can occasionally do something brilliant.

Now, to be perfectly fair, little Joey Biden has a mental cognition problem that is more than likely some form of senility or Alzheimer’s disease.  I am not entirely blaming little Joey; his spouse and handlers bear the full brunt of the blame and deserve their punishment for not allowing this senile old man to retreat to his beloved basement and finish the rest of his days in solitude and grandchildren.  May little Joey sniff hair and massage shoulders in a creepy fashion after retirement to his heart’s content.  But his handlers, the complicit media, and his spouse need to be hauled in front of a judge for elder person abuse!

From Australia’s Sky News, the BBC, Daily Mail, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, and Jerusalem News, essentially covering the entire globe, every media channel worth a small moment is complaining about Biden’s European performance.  Not all media channels are created equal, but to have them all complaining about Biden in Europe is pretty phenomenal.  To have Biden walk back his handlers’ “clarification” and then renounce his previous sentiments in the same speech is nothing short of a full-blown communication failure.

To clarify, I do not care what you embrace for your political party.  Any person with half a brain cell can observe what is happening and know instinctively that the elected leaders have no clue and even less intelligence.  Worse, their intellectual ability for self-preservation is running on fumes and day-old flatulence.  Truly, “speech is given to many, and intelligence to few.”  Unfortunately, this is not the tip of the iceberg humanity is headed towards at full speed!If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise we do not believe in it at all ...

Satire is truth wrapped in comic wit and presented for discussion.  Never taken seriously as supported by how many “shock” comedians?  Yet, the Babylon Bee is removed from Twitter because some Twitter employees think they have a special mission from their god CEO Parag Agrawal to silence any voice they deem “hostile.”  More people prove that “speech is given to many; intelligence to few.”  Would someone please tell me how Kathy Griffin can parody cutting off then President Trump’s head, and she can maintain a Twitter account, but the Babylon Bee has their account suspended.  Worse, Kathy Griffin, a fully non-humorous comedienne, got a Netflix special, but Dave Chapelle was hounded mercilessly for weeks because he told the truth and was actually funny.

Kathy Griffin, Dave Chapelle, Biden/Trump, Babylon Bee, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, and others are tied into a Gordian Knot over the topic of controlling speech unconstitutionally.  Whether as perpetrators, victims, or politics, every actor mentioned, especially those not mentioned, as this was NOT a definitive list, all share in the ongoing saga over the First Amendment.Abraham Joshua Heschel quote: Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out...

A reminder, the First Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The perpetrators who are pulling the political strings to hinder and thwart the First Amendment hide, like evil thinking cowards, cower behind the shield, “Congress.” Claiming that since they are not Congress, they only prohibit speech on their private platforms conditional as part of the “User Agreement” or as private citizens or businesses.  Hence, limiting the speech of others is entirely legal, moral, and socially acceptable, intentionally muddying the lines between legal and illegal for entertainment or some other bloviated excuse.  Except, what these perpetrators are doing is stealing freedom from everyone for personal profit.TOP 6 QUOTES BY ZECHARIAH CHAFEE | A-Z Quotes

What is “Hate speech?”  Sure, the lawyers have concocted a definition for court, but in practice, “Hate Speech” is anything any person who thinks they possess a modicum of power deems it to be.  Any tool that limits speech will be used as a weapon to beat people out of their rights and freedoms and steal the same to enslave all.  The Supreme Court regularly hears cases on First Amendment issues, specifically speech.  Of the five freedoms protected and enshrined in the First Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, and Petition the government), speech is the one most often attacked.  The Supreme Court has wisely used the rule of thumb, “Screaming ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater,” as the basis for whether to rule speech as governed under the First Amendment or not.

Why is this a wise rule of thumb?  Because creating panic in a population enclosed in a building should not be protected “free” speech as the consequences are dire indeed.  But does this mean anything else goes; absolutely!  A simple rule exists to explain why, “When you limit the freedoms of a single person in a society, the entire society loses ALL of their freedoms, rights, and liberties.”  Democracy is messy!  A constitutional republic is doubly chaotic!  We, the citizens of either a democracy or a constitutional republic, accept this as a necessity to protect our individual rights, freedoms, and liberties.The Legal Lens: Why Free Speech Matters To You

This means when Twitter declares something as broaching their “User Agreement” and limiting one person’s speech, as a citizen of the United States, every citizen of the United States loses!  When Facebook or LinkedIn practice censorship in the name of “socially acceptable speech,” they are thwarting the US Constitution and decrying they are the wisest of us all and intelligent enough to declare what is and is not “acceptable” speech in a public environment.  When YouTube ends people’s livelihood because they do not like the content in a video, everyone loses their right to produce content free from burdensome oppression.

Chris Rock was free to make a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith as a point of reference.  Will Smith was perfectly in his right to first laugh at the joke and then choose to become offended.  But, Will Smith’s rights ended when he took action and hit Chris Rock.  Speech is a responsibility, and exercising speech properly means sometimes being held accountable for the speech made.  Unfortunately, modern society has allowed people to make offensive and degrading remarks without accountability for too long, which is a problem.  However, the solution is not to control speech by a business, company, government, non-governmental board/organization, etc.  The solution is to remind people of the accountability inherent in exercising their rights to speech.

Speech is never “Free.”  Free speech means no consequences to what you say, but the reverse is true, and speech has a significant cost!  Ask any disabled veteran about the cost of speech, and let me know if they claim their injuries are free.  Worse, ask any person jailed who made a speech if their speech was free, and tell me if their sufferings, depravations, and sacrifices were without cost.  Chris Rock was entirely in his right to make an offensive joke.  I did not find it funny.  But could Chris Rock have been held accountable for his poor sense of humor without being slapped on international television; absolutely.  But, name me another group of people who abuse the rights, freedoms, and liberties of others without care and concern than Hollywood.  I know of no other industry!

Yet, Hollywood has taken it upon themselves to be the lords and masters over everyone else when they cannot control themselves.  Solidifying the permanence in the principle, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.”  How many known victims of Harvey Weinstein?  How many unknown victims are living?  How many dead victims?  How long was Harvey Weinstein abusing his power to subjugate people to whet his appetites and passions?  How many others are currently copy-catting Harvey Weinstein’s example?Speech is power: speech is... | Inspirational Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The government has failed to police Hollywood, and Hollywood refuses to police itself, but how many in Hollywood are willing to insist that Hollywood needs a deep cleansing, an injection of values, morals, and law; not many, if any.  Name another industry so rampant and steeped in villainy, depravity, and disgust that it can escape basic law enforcement.  Hollywood spawned Bollywood and how many other incarnations in countries around the globe, all suffering from the same moral vacuum and creating the same social decay without consequence.  Spoilt children, parading as virtuous adults, demand their rights, liberties, and freedoms, all while denying others the same rights, liberties, and freedoms.  Demanding politicians, the same politicians fawning and feeding the Hollywood monster, to use the powers of government, and big business, to thwart laws for their own profit and gain.

Have you ever heard of a “Casting Couch?”  In business, the military, and government, a “casting couch” is sexual harassment, a crime worthy of jail, heavy fines, and social scorn for the perpetrator.  In Hollywood, the “Casting Couch” is regular business for those desiring to be in Hollywood, and the victims, if they speak out, are scorned and unemployable.  The horror stories about the “Casting Couch” are depraved, disgusting, and the victims’ ages run the gamut, all with little to no consequences for those soliciting sexual favors in return for employment in Hollywood.  The case of Harvey Weinstein ripped the scab off the festering wound of Hollywood, but Big Business and Government have helped keep the wound alive and infected, to the shame and horror of the victims.

Knowledge Check!Will Smith, enjoy the spotlight your actions created, and may the consequences fit the crime.  Chris Rock, you’re still not funny.  Wanda Sykes, you lost your funny.  The Oscar’s is not worth my time and energy to scorn, let alone watch.  But, Hollywood, your industry is sick, and the greatest crime is that your infection is spreading faster than a case of Chlamydia in the Playboy Mansion.  Hollywood, you have lost any and all claims to tell anyone else how to live and until you clean up your mess, I will continue to refuse you my money.  You might start by remembering, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.”

© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images.  Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

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Let’s Talk – Thoughts on Several Issues

GavelMountainview Medical, the surgical center in Las Cruces, NM., informed me politely that I was not welcome as a patient for my inability to wear a mask.  Once my failure to wear a mask was resolved, I was welcome to return, but I was not welcome until then.  This was made pretty clear to me today (27 September 2021).  Regardless of a wet signature signed letter from my VA-provided primary care provider, I cannot wear a mask, irrespective of the fact that the VA had arranged this appointment and was paying the bill.  I was persona non grata.

One would think that having accepted a contract, the accepter would do everything to fulfill the contract.  Yet, apparently, a mask is sufficient legal cause to forfeit a contract.  Does anyone else find this strange and odd?  Would a lawyer please step forward and explain contract law to me.  When I have accepted a contract, my job has been to fulfill that contract to the best of my abilities or be found in breach and liable for the damages to the contract issuer.Apathy

Changing topics.  I was taught, look people in the eye when speaking to them.  Be honest, forthright, and confident enough as a person to render respect.  I have studied people and psychology for a long time.  I am lost on this topic and if you have insight, please feel free to add your comments below.  Why do women feel the need to either become hostile or play with their clothes, hair, or refuse eye contact when talking to me?  I am not horrendous to look upon; I am certainly not good-looking either.  I am not flirting; I interact with other people for professional reasons; yet, I cannot get people to look me in the eye and have professional conversations.

What has happened to eye contact in American society?  What has happened to confidence in communicating?  Look, I get it; right now, the media has everyone scared to shake hands.  I was raised providing a firm handshake, looking people in the eye, and socially interacting is the highest skill you can learn to succeed.  I was having this conversation randomly the other day, and the other person was scapegoating millennials.  I feel this is 100% unfair as the problem is multi-generational and crosses all industries and situations.  Consider the following, and let’s have this conversation.Einstein

Changing topics.  What is more acceptable to you; all talk and no action, or all action and no talk?  In reviewing some transcripts of a ZOOM meeting where President Biden was in attendance with many Democratic National Committee (DNC) leaders and party flunkies, the president made remarks to the effect that since he was the only one speaking to a point, the DNC should be grateful.  One of the reasons I have been hesitant to expand the blog is that I prefer to be a person of action.  Yet, with my disabilities, I find taking action less and less the course I can physically handle.  Thus, I must find new outlets, and training others is a course of action I am good at.  Thus, the blog was born; but not taken without reservations.

QuestionNow, America finds itself at the mercy of a person who considers himself a person of words and thinks others should be grateful to have his words on a particular subject.  In psychology, this method of thinking is generally classified as narcissistic.  A narcissist is a person full of pride and egoism, which shows extreme love for themselves and only for themself.  I cannot think of a better adjective to describe Joe Biden.  Thus, I wonder about the question posed, do you prefer a person of many words and little action, or do you prefer someone of few words and plenty of action?

Strip politics, identity, sex, gender, and all other adjectives and names from this comparison.  Simply make a distinction between words and no action and lots of action and few words.  Then lay that preference out on the world and make choices based upon that preference.  As a person of action, I prefer other people of action.  I like people of action for actions can always be guided and shifted; words mean everything is stuck awaiting action.  If you prefer words to action, please let me know in the comments section why and explain to me how words are better than action.  I am genuinely interested in and appreciate logic and reason.kpi

Changing topics.  Last week my cousin succumbed to his injuries and passed this mortal coil.  I learned something that made me furious, and frankly, I am still not my “cherub-like self.”  I had always thought my cousins escaped the chains of abuse.  My uncle and aunt on my father’s side are just so tender-hearted and innocent; I thought their kids would escape the evils of abuse so prevalent on my side of the family circle.  Unfortunately, the clutches of sexual abuse tormented their family, and my cousin did not ever receive the training needed to overcome the abuse and was a victim his entire life.

I learned from an early age how to fight.  I was raised to be the last bastard standing in a room full of bastards.  I learned how to win, fight dirty, and be it fists, words, ideas, or weapons, I was going to be the victor.  I grew the antibodies against abuse by being abused.  I do not like admitting this, but it is the truth, plain and simple.  My cousin never got this training, I never knew he needed this training, and his family has suffered incredibly from a guidance counselor in the school district who abused my cousin in the second grade.Grit - Defined

To the abused; I am sorry!  You are now faced with a choice, do you give the person who abused, or is still abusing you, power over the rest of your life, or do you choose to fight and win back your life, dignity, and potential?  That is the only choice you make, and you will make this choice every day for the rest of your life.  How you choose dictates your destiny; do you have gravel in your guts sufficient to take back what was stolen from you or not?  You have friends, associates, and support, but at the end of the day, in the wee hours of the morning, you, and only you, have the power to defeat your abuser, and you must wield the sword to defeat the abuser!Angry Wet Chicken

To the abusers; I detest you!  With all the power I possess, I will actively work against you to defeat you!  There is nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide, and nothing you can do to evade and escape.  I am not justice; I am simply a man who will not allow you the power to continue to abuse.  I know many like me who are just as committed to seeing you stand in front of a judge and be punished for your crimes, and we will continue to work for this day to our dying breath!

I have met too many abused and broken people who do not understand the simplicity of conquering abuse.  The action is simple, choose to stop allowing yourself to be abused.  The reality and activities to support that choice are hard, painful, and the struggle is real physically, mentally, emotionally, and on every level possible.  But, I promise you, freedom from abuse is possible!  Make the choice to stop allowing yourself to be abused!  Need a friend, contact me; need help, reach out.  There are plenty of people locally and more virtually who understand and are happy to help.  Just allow us to be there for you!Angry Grizzly Bear

The accepted praxis in society is to not talk about abuse and abuse recovery as this is a topic for “someone else” to discuss.  Well, that myth ends today!  Abuse is happening too often to continue to ignore, sidestep, or push it under the table.  Abuse is not just a topic for annual teacher training classes, nurses, and doctors.  Abuse does not just happen to low-income families, bad people, or those who “deserve it.”  Abuse comes in many different types and styles, forms, and methodologies.  The single unifying factor in abuse is a single person who is gaining power over another person through manipulation and dominion.

Sexual abuse is about power and dominion, as well as sexual gratification.  Sexual abuse is NEVER about love, and I do not care if it is male-on-male, male-on-female, or female-on-female; it is always about power, not love!  Physical abuse is always about dominion and power over another person; they are always selected for their weakness.  The abused person is constantly victimized until they cannot live without the abuse, or so they are trained.  Verbal abuse is all about power and dominion, feeding the ego of the abuser on the weakness of those abused.  When directed at another for personal gain, apathy is abuse and needs to be corrected before additional harm and further abuse are committed.

Pornography and masturbation are self-abuse.  Drug abuse is self-abuse, alcohol abuse is self-abuse, and these abuses lead to physical, sexual, verbal, and other types of abuse.  Abuse of self leads to abuse of others.  Abuse of others causes society to detest and denigrate you, exasperating self-abuse and addictive behaviors, which further exasperate drug and alcohol abuse and abuse of others.  Vicious cycle indeed!

Knowledge Check!Agree or disagree, leave a comment and let’s have the conversations that need to be discussed.  Let’s openly discuss root causes and look to create solutions that can generate positive outcomes.  Better, let’s open our hearts and hands to lift and support.  There has undoubtedly been sufficient abuse, torment, anger, and hatred in this world.  We need to find different solutions!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Working Man’s Ph.D.

cropped-tools.jpgIn 1993 one of the biggest hits was a song called “Working Man’s Ph.D.” sung by Aaron Tippin.  Aaron Tippin has the most colorful biography of all the country-western singers I know, including a commercial airline pilot, pipefitter, truck driver, welder, farmhand, and songwriter and singer.  The lyrics for the song “Working Man’s Ph.D.” form the backbone to the point of this article and as a means of honoring those who have well-earned their working man’s Ph.D.

You get up every morning ‘fore the sun comes up
Toss a lunchbox into a pickup truck
A long, hard day, sure ain’t much fun
But you’ve gotta get it started if you wanna get it done
You set your mind and roll up your sleeves
You’re workin’ on a working man’s Ph.D

Consider the following line especially, “you’ve gotta get it started if you wanna get it done; You set your mind and roll up your sleeves.”  How many times has grit been the only determining factor between starting and finishing a project?  Starters are many, but enders are few.  Those are the two elements for success, and every working man knows the recipe.  Get your mindset and start by rolling up your sleeves.  Preparation is key to finishing strong.20th Maine

Now, cast your mind to those who have never learned how to be a working man.  They have no grit, no ability to make up their minds, and cannot stand up to adversity and spit in adversity’s eyes.  Yet, they talk a good line.  They want you to think they know.  But the lines on their brow and the lack of callouses on their hands tell another story entirely.

Take a moment and consider your first blister.  Do you remember how you earned it?  Do you remember what you were doing the first time you felt that sting?  I do.  My first blister turned into my first and most lasting callous.  I was hoeing a row of peas in a garden; I was six.  I was told that a blister from working is the mark of a man learning how to work.  I earned that blister on a hoe handled that had been wrapped in duct tape to prevent splinters.  After that row of peas, there was a row of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and lawns to mow.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted and sore, the blister was bloody, and I learned how to treat blisters so you could go to work the next day.Rocks

Let me tell you a secret; I love that blister and callous!  I have burned that callous on many a stove and pan.  I have cut that callous on several knives and received no injury.  I have softened that callous while wrestling sheep in a shearing pen.  I have milked cows and goats to the cows and goats’ misfortune with that callous.  That callous has taught me many a lesson, including how to get a blister under a callous.  In the middle of a cold winter, while splitting wood, that callous kept my hands sticking to the steel of the handle on the splitting maul.  That maul handle had been replaced so many times that my father had taken the splitting maul to work and replaced the wood with ½” steel tubing.  It heaviest splitting maul I ever used, but I never broke that handle off!

With your heart in your hands and the sweat on your brow
You build the things that really make the world go around
If it works, if it runs, if it lasts, for years
You bet your bottom dollar; it was made right here
With pride, honor, and dignity
From a man with a working man’s Ph.D

Consider something with me, think about your hardest task completed; what did you learn about “pride, honor, and dignity” about accomplishing that task?  Hard work taught you a lesson that ease and prosperity could never teach.  Lessons that you cannot pass along to another person except by teaching them the joys and pleasures of task accomplishment and hard work.  Yet, in the world today, so many want to look down on hard work, and this is a thought process that needs reversing.Good Timber

I screwed up.  I admit this freely.  I took some money for raking my neighbor’s lawn and did a poor job.  My neighbor fired me; she was right to do so.  I felt so disgusted with myself for taking money and not delivering a good job, I went over and finished that job over my neighbors’ objections.  I shoveled her snow for free that year.  I did everything I could to discharge the debt I owed to this woman for teaching me that there is no honor, dignity, and pride in a job not done well.

cropped-snow-leopard.jpgMy wife the other day asked me why I don’t quit jobs I have undertaken.  She doesn’t understand the lessons I have learned; I cannot do a poor job.  I cannot commit to doing a job and give less than my full potential and all of my talents, skills, and abilities.  Even when it means I am surrounded by enemies in a hostile environment where my life is constantly threatened.  I have to give it everything I have; I owe this debt to my neighbor that must be serviced.  I have earned a working man’s Ph.D. as well as a couple of master’s degrees from the school of hard knocks; I owe too much to those who have taught me to forget these lessons.

Now there ain’t no shame in a job well done
From driving a nail to driving a truck
As a matter of fact, I’d like to set things straight
A few more people should be pullin’ their weight
If you wanna cram course in reality
You get yourself a working man’s Ph.D

There is a truth in these simple words, I wish to convey in the soberest words possible, “there ain’t no shame in a job well done.”  There is no end of shame to a job poorly done.  Consider the current president; why does the common person, those of us carrying working man Ph.D.’s, scorn the president?  Why did the common person, those carrying working man Ph.D.’s, heap praise on President Trump?  The simple truth and reality in the sentiment, “there ain’t no shame in a job well done,” but there is no end of shame in a job poorly done.  Use any other person you care to name, John Wayne and Kim Kardashian, who gets the stain and who gets the praise of a job well and poorly done?  President Reagan and Nancy Pelosi?  Michael Jackson and Mother Teresa?Leadership Cartoon

The job doesn’t matter, driving nails, driving trucks, nursing babies, keeping a house, accountant, pipefitting, welder, buyer, etc., what matters is how well the job is completed.  Do you take the job and do it well or poorly?  For if you do it poorly, there is nothing but eternal shame, the work itself will always testify of your performance, and people will speak of your incompetence.  Do it well, to the best of your abilities; even if a scoreboard might proclaim you are a loser, you have won victory and honor, pride, and dignity that can never be taken from you.  How you perform the task is the deciding factor, not the job, not the task, not the scores and the statistics, your performance of the task’s duties.

When the quittin’ whistle blows and the dust settles down
There ain’t no trophies or cheering crowds
You’ll face yourself at the end of the day
And be damn proud of whatever you’ve made
Can’t hang it on the wall for the world to see
But you’ve got yourself a working man’s Ph.D

The hardest lesson I learned in the US Army was how to shave without looking at myself in the mirror.  Then I had to learn how to live with my mistakes to shave and look myself in the eye.  Right there and then, I learned the lesson contained in the following lines, “You’ll face yourself at the end of the day; And be damn proud of whatever you’ve made.”  In junior high school, I read Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary,” and the following quote stuck in my mental craw.  It comes out often to teach me more lessons.

The soil of a man’s heart is stony ground. A man grows what he can, and he tends it. ’Cause what you buy, is what you own. And what you own… always comes home.”

Thank you!Hard work teaches hard lessons, but the lessons learned are worth more than gold and diamonds, and I wouldn’t trade a single lesson learned for all the money in the world and all the fame in Hollywood.  Of all the degrees and titles I have acquired in this world, or will acquire, the only one I ever want is that of “Hard worker,” for that single title says it all.  When the chips and markers are counted at the end of life, I want to be found pulling my weight.  I might be disabled, I might be stubborn as a Missouri Mule with a mean streak a mile wide, but I want to be found pulling my weight.

Now there ain’t no shame in a job well done
From driving a nail to driving a truck
As a matter of fact, I’d like to set things straight
A few more people should be pullin’ their weight
If you wanna cram course in reality
You get yourself a working man’s Ph.D

Bobblehead DollMy deepest thanks to Aaron Tippin for his example and his incredible talent as a singer and person.  I have met many military people who sing Aaron Tippin’s praises, and I am very grateful for the talent shared.  May I encourage you to consider how well your studies are progressing on your “Working Man’s Ph.D.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

I Have a Question – Texas and Afghanistan

01 September 2021, the BBC ran a story quoting President Biden, “Biden vows ‘whole-of-government response to Texas Abortion Law.”  My question is simple, direct, and easy to ask and answer.  “Why will President Biden fight with the “whole-of-government” Texas to kill babies, but will not fight with the “whole-of-government” extremists and terrorists in Afghanistan to protect Americans and allies?”  Will someone in the media and press corps please ask this simple question!

I-CareOn the topic of asking questions in my inbox right now, I have two weeks of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – Office of Inspector General Reports (VA-OIG) where comprehensive healthcare inspections (CHIp) were conducted.  Employee morale from distress contributes to employee churn, and leadership is not being held to task.  Yet, the chief executive will unconstitutionally call out a “whole-of-government” response to Texas exercising state rights on abortion but not help correct veterans being abused.  Why?

America has flooding across the South and North East.  Americans are dead, streets flooded, electricity is out, all from a pretty intense hurricane.  This is a natural disaster; where is the President calling out a “whole-of-government” response for a natural disaster, rallying the bureaucrats to cut red tape, and rushing assistance to these areas?  Yet, a Texan abortion law gets presidential attention.  Why?Angry Grizzly Bear

Private companies got employees and others out of Afghanistan, but the President, who is duty-bound to serve American’s first, refused his job and has so far kept his job.  Where are the House and Senate with impeaching the US President for failure to uphold his oath and carry out his duties?  Where are the US House and Senate leaders picking up the slack and showing leadership in these tumultuous times?  Why are the US House and Senate leadership jumping on the “whole-of-government” fight with Texas instead of ordering a mass military response to rescue Americans and ruin technology and weaponry left in Afghanistan?

Leaving weapons, money, and munitions for the enemy is treasonous and punishable by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  Why hasn’t General Milley been arrested for following orders that were clearly illegal and getting troops killed in the process?  The military gave comfort and aid to the enemy by order of the President and military leaders.  This is the absolute definition of treason, and the military leaders should have disobeyed those orders.  Why is Afghanistan such a mess?  The military leaders followed illegal orders!

Knowledge Check!A toddler is orphaned today after a mother and older sibling died of heatstroke, all due to the US President’s incalculably stupid decisions on the US/Mexico border.  We have a humanitarian, national security, and health crisis on the US/Mexico border.  The US President and Vice President cannot be bothered to stop their disastrous decisions and reverse course.  When will the media ask for and demand answers to the simple question, “Why?”  Yet, the US President, House, and Senate leaders will call out a “whole-of-government” oppression response to Texas over a piece of legislation that makes sense on abortion.  Another why question deserving a complete and transparent answer from the President and his handlers.

Before calling out a “whole-of-government” response for Texas and their abortion law, which by the way does nothing to restrict anything, how about we call out the government for an answer to infrastructure failing, tax officials abusing power, corrupt bureaucrats, abuse of veterans, and a president who failed in Afghanistan!  Let’s call out a “whole-of-government” response for states harmed by flooding from a hurricane, get the electricity turned back on, get COVID mandates ended, and get businesses running.  Let’s call for a “whole-of-government” response to investigating the corruption in government, the lack of budgeting, missing trillions of dollars, and the military-industrial complex that continues to cost future generations debt.  How about a “whole-of-government” response to the education farrago that is cursing Americans to run dead last because of functional illiteracy?Duty

With 49 other states and a couple of territories to have an abortion on demand, there is no end to competition to have an abortion on demand in America.  Let’s leave Texas alone and fix some real problems!  Better still, let’s answer questions, get some transparency going, and start holding politicians accountable for selling America up the river!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the photos displayed.

ZERO COVID – The Insanity Continues: Beware the Dangerous Water Ahead!

Angry Wet ChickenNews headlines with Fauci included this gem, “We will not let up until COVID is no longer a viral infection.”  Seriously?!?!?!  If that is the goal, why has that not been the case with Chickenpox, Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Spanish Flu, ZIKA, and the list of viral diseases goes on and on!

Here are a few more gems on COVID:

      • On Monday, Biden pressed private industry to mandate vaccination, stating, “Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements.”
      • Anthony Fauci told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I respect people’s freedom, but when you’re talking about a public health crisis … the time has come, enough is enough. We’ve just got to get people vaccinated.”
      • Anthony Fauci announced on MSNBC that everyone should mask, vaccinated or unvaccinated: “Instead of worrying what kind of mask, just wear a mask. Wear a surgical mask, a cloth mask … We need to wear masks.” Biden went further, extending his push for masks to small children: “You have the tools to keep your child safer … make sure that your child is masked when they leave home.”

How hard is it to keep a child in a mask; almost near impossible!  The science is in; take any mask; if you can fog your glasses, then the mask is ineffective at stopping the micron level of COVID. The most straightforward test I know to see if a mask might or might not protect you against COVID.  If the mask doesn’t protect you, guess what?  Wearing that mask is only making problems worse, not better.

Now, let’s talk Delta-Variant, Science, and COVID recent infections.  A friend of mine works in a hospital in Ohio.  Out of 100 patients seen who had contracted COVID in the first couple weeks of August, 99 had been vaccinated, wore a mask religiously, and followed every one of the CDC guidelines for social distancing and COVID living.  The one exception caught the flu, and the flu became COVID through exposure.  I mention this not to paint the entire globe with the same brush but to reflect a truth science has been screaming.  When you vaccinate against viral diseases, those vaccinated become a target for mutant strains, and the vaccine might or might not help prevent the mutant strains from making a person sick.Gravy Train

Straight science found in every viral disease paper I have read and researched.  Take a moment, read, and then compare the hysteria of COVID to every other viral infection on the planet and ask questions.  Polio is considered “eradicated,” polio as a virus is still alive and well; we just have really superior vaccines against polio infections.  Chickenpox, mumps, measles, and rubella are common viral diseases children get vaccinated against; the diseases are not dead; we have developed vaccines and spent decades researching the daylights of these diseases and their mutant strains to understand the diseases and improve the vaccines.

From the CDC, we find the following:

      • “The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the chickenpox vaccine. Chickenpox used to be very common in the United States.  In the early 1990s, an average of 4 million people got chickenpox, 10,500 to 13,000 were hospitalized, and 100 to 150 died each year.  Chickenpox vaccine became available in the United States in 1995.”Question 2
      • “Hilleman’s mumps vaccine was then used in the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which was licensed in 1971. The rubella component of the vaccine was changed in 1979, but in the United States, the mumps and measles vaccine viruses have remained the same since 1971.”… “Reported cases decreased by more than 99% after both the mumps vaccination program started in the US in 1967 and children regularly received two doses of MMR vaccine.”Question 3
      • No vaccine, and since 2019, no confirmed cases of Zika Virus have been reported in the US or its territories. Remember back in 2014 through 2016, all the pandemic emergencies, the executive actions, the mandates issued by President Obama to “flatten the curve” and “protect our hospital infrastructure” over Zika related viral infections.  Neither do I; in fact, Obama could not even stop playing golf to be bothered to discuss Zika.

Mosquito

      • “The (H1N1)pdm09 virus (Swine Flu – 2009) was very different from H1N1 viruses that were circulating at the time of the pandemic. Few young people had any existing immunity (as detected by antibody response) to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus. Nearly one-third of people over 60 years old had antibodies against this virus, likely from exposure to an older H1N1 virus earlier in their lives.”  Swine flu has a vaccine, but that pandemic did not require mask mandates or include fear for hospital infrastructure and a refusal to practice common sense medicine.  The swine flu virus, H1N1, may have killed 15 times the number of people counted by the World Health Organization.  The H1N1 pandemic struck down primarily young people, many living in Africa and Southeast Asia.  Beginning in 2009, the virus swept the globe and the WHO counted 18,500 swine flu deaths that laboratory tests had confirmed. But according to new estimates from researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus probably killed between 105,700 and 400,000 people around the world in its first year alone, and an additional 46,000 to 179,000 people likely died of cardiovascular complications from the virus.”

Vaccine

Motivation and COVID

Tom Clancy uses the acronym MICE or Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego, as the reasons to describe why people become spies.  Except, this acronym also applies to why people act in an anathema manner to common sense, good social order, and proper discipline.  A friend and I discussed COVID and the government tyranny; the political models do not fit since President Trump was defeated.  Economic models do not match actions and reasons for taking more steps.  Social and psychological models do not include the activities of the actors driving the COVID mandates and hysteria.  Science has been utterly rejected, twisted, and destroyed.  Medicine is being twisted and destroyed.Lemmings 1

It wasn’t until MICE came along in the conversation as primary motivating forces that logic started to appear; now, I am not fully cognizant of what was seen in that brief flash, but what I saw, I will describe.

      • Money – There are TONS of cash involved in COVID-Mandates, masking mandates, vaccination mandates, and so forth. Literally, you could take the money and count it by weighing the money by the ton!  Thus money’s influence and motivation cannot be discounted, and following the money is critical to understanding why the COVID virus has to be eradicated before the pandemic can end.
      • Ideology – Unless the ideology is to wipe out populations, such as the elderly and infirm, then I do not think ideology can be a motivating influence or at least a primary motivating force in COVID and the government and media actions.
      • Coercion – Tyrants have always wanted to coerce large populations. As a primary motivating force, coercion cannot be discounted nor eliminated.  Worse, When viewed through the lens of coercion to force people to do as told for personal power and enjoyment, coercion has plenty of solid arguments as a primary force for motivating governments and political leaders to act as they have and continue the pandemic “emergency” as long as possible.
      • Ego – Of all the primary motivating forces, ego fits the best after coercion and before money. Why; because of Fauci!  Here is a practical nobody vaulted into the public limelight and only remains popular as long as the pandemic kills people.  How many other research scientists have been treated similarly, throwing out the first pitch of a baseball season, actively sought for TV interviews, on speed dial by the politically connected and powerful elite.  Oh yes, ego has a role in motivating the pandemic to continue as long as possible!

Lemmings 5Motivation is the reason why people act.  Logic is the reasoning and is generally fully understood after the action was taken; but the motivation to act, the impulses that drive us to our feet giving us the energy to act in a specific direction, exerting our will, minds, hearts, and souls towards a goal, can generally be deduced through MICE.  Therein lay both the power and the tragedy of human relations.  Therein also lay the pattern for understanding why people act one way, and a person will act differently.  The influence of groupthink is too strong for individual voices to counter, and people go along with stuff they would typically abhor personally but accept as a group.

Are there people involved in COVID who are the sons of Mary; probably.  Are there those involved in COVID purely for the perceived health emergency and nothing else; this is also statistically probable.  Yet, for all these potential anomalies, the vast majority of those pushing the COVID pandemic and health emergency are in it for the money, the ideology, because they have always wanted to play “Storm Trooper” and force people to accept their rule, or simply because of the pleasure of having their egos stroked.

Knowledge Check!One thing every citizen of a representative government should know by now, tyranny has many faces, multiple names, but only one result.  The death of liberty too often in world history has been accompanied, not by the crash and thunder of conquering armies, but the applause of the deceived masses.  Well, COVID and this “health emergency,” “pandemic,” “global crisis,” is but one of tyranny’s names, and liberty is dying a slow and horrible death.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

When the Media Becomes Fixated – Smoke and Mirrors

Angry Grizzly BearAfghanistan has fallen, history has repeated itself, making the images of Saigon look like a trip to Disneyland on gossamer wings.  Haiti is in shambles, again, from the triple whammy of an earthquake, a hurricane, and political instability; at least this time, we do not have the Clinton’s siphoning money from the relief efforts for their personal gain.  The US/Mexico border National Security/Humanitarian/Health crisis continues unabated, unreported, and the deception of the American Government to its citizens is unceasing.

Stories are leaking out. President Biden refused to place American citizens ahead of Afghanistanis and other nationalities on American military planes during the Afghanistan farrago, again betraying the American people’s trust.  After a minimal review of President Biden’s time in office, I should not be surprised that he places other nationalities ahead of American’s, but I am amazed every time.  Yet, with all the “news,” it is interesting to note that the dogs not barking should be getting the attention.

Colonial Pipeline Hack

Remember the Colonial Pipeline Hack, which shut down the pipeline that fed oil products down the Eastern Seaboard.  Apparently, some 6,000 people’s private information was also lost in the hack.  Social security and health insurance information was stolen; consider how much personal data is on an insurance form, now ask yourself, why is all that private data needed?  Why was it stored with pipeline controls?  Who is responsible for allowing HIPAA information to be accessible?Colonial Pipeline Russian hacker: Darcy cartoon - cleveland.com

Since Colonial Pipeline paid the ransom, how can we, the consumers, be assured that the ransomware (software used to shut down the pipeline in the first place) was removed and the IT/IS threat risks fixed?  Since private data was stolen in the attack, how can employees (past and present) and their families get their identities back?  Worse, what about future attacks using private data as leverage to regain access and control?  Medical data has been used as leverage to blackmail historically as this is intimate and private data; this is a security breach with significant potential future risk but is being downplayed.  Why?

China

China Takes Over the World - TV TropesAlmost like clockwork, when there is trouble, China goes silent.  Every parent in the world knows when their toddler goes silent, that is when it is time to go find out what the child is doing.  Usually, it will mean the child is about to get their bottom smacked for doing something against the rules.  Or, you could compare China to Peeves, the poltergeist from Harry Potter, “When there’s trouble, call on Peeves, he’ll make it double.”  What is China doing right now, as they take advantage of the Afghanistan and Haiti double crisis?

Why are China’s rights and sovereignty always respected by America when China refuses to respect our sovereignty and rights?  When China refuses to honor border integrity and the sovereignty, rights, and privileges of its neighbors?  Want some interesting reading?  The Heritage Foundation has published the “China Transparency Report.”  Essentially, since 2005, China has been investing in third-world countries, often with illicit or illegal money, washed through its own banks, and returned to the global markets as investments in construction projects for “nation-building.”  Open secrets, many economists already know and have been asking political leaders to put a halt to, and have been rebuffed by those same political leaders, who then take “investments” from China.China's Emerging Middle Eastern Kingdom - Association of Geo-Strategic Analysis

China wants a hegemony, the political, economic, and military dominance of the globe, and they are investing in building nation-states that are loyal to them.  Not China-bashing, trying to raise awareness of what is happening right now in the world!  China’s leadership suffers from the “Middle Kingdom Inadequacy Syndrome” where they want to rule, but they entered the 18th and 19th centuries too late.  Now they want to play like it is still the 17th and 18th centuries, where empires can be built, lands stolen, maps redrawn, vast empires where the sun never sets are their reward for their patience and careful investments.

COVID-Hysterical Reactions

New Zealand re-entered national lockdown over COVID as of this morning (17 Aug 2021).  They have a single confirmed case of COVID.  Israel has 7,000+ daily cases; they are expecting to enhance their COVID measures.  New Mexico’s Governor (Supreme Grand Vizier and Head Chump) is still vacillating on her next mandate on COVID.  Other governors, heads of state, and many citizens wait with bated breath for the next shoe to drop on COVID-hysterical nonsense.  While everyone’s focus is on Afghanistan and Haiti, look for some weasel to stick the population with more COVID-Mania, that other politicians will follow if the first can “get away with the madness.”Covid-19 Def Leppard Hysteria - Covid 19 - T-Shirt | TeePublic

COVID has taught every citizen worldwide to be very cautious where government and “health mandates for public good” are concerned.  How many freedoms, treasure, and lives lost unnecessarily occurred because the government acted instead of logical thinking people?  Too much!  The greatest crime in all of recorded history is relying upon or allowing the government to act when the people can, and should, be doing the work.The Bright Side Of Coronavirus - 9ThirtyFour

CNN fired employees for not honoring the company policy to get vaccinated.  Did you know your employer can mandate you to be vaccinated?  Did you know your employer can charge you a different health insurance rate for not being vaccinated?  Are you aware that to your employer, you are property, have no US Constitutional Rights, and can be fired for not toeing every single line they spout?

Why is the Corporate Media Crowing About the US Senate “Acting” to Spend Money The US Does Not Possess?

blue-money-burning-2The US Senate is still being cheered for passing a budget full of leftist stupidity and wish list items that do nothing but bloat the American Government, raise the costs of products, and increase the ire of the electorate and the National Deficit.  Yet, the media cheers!  The US Senate passed an “infrastructure bill” that focuses on everything but infrastructure.  Yet, the media cheers!  The legislation passed provides free Internet to Cubans living on the Island of Cuba but is paid for by every other American utilizing Internet services and paying taxes.  Still, the media cheers!  Inflation is headed for double-digits by year’s end (2021), and if action is not taken swiftly will remain at double-digit highs for at least three years.  Yet, the media cheers, and the politicians are silent or making excuses.

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and mirrors are methods of distracting the audience while a magician does the trick, or the smoke and mirrors are the tricks.  Skilled magicians use these tools to create illusions meant to mystify and delight.  Politicians and media talking heads use them to distract until they can fashion a proper excuse, find a different party to blame, or waste sufficient time that the public has moved on to a different story.  Only magicians know that audiences become sophisticated over time, and all old tricks need revisiting to keep the mystery and magic alive.  Politicians refuse to learn this lesson, and their antics have grown stale, tired, and what was merely detestable 40 years ago has become treasonous and contemptible today!Ecig cancer death is smoke and mirrors | Planet of the Vapes

How do we, the citizens of representative governments, end the games, stop the charades, and demand accountability?  We stop buying tickets to the show!  We turn off the TV, Radio, and Talking Heads, turn on our minds, and use our critical thinking skills to deduce what is happening from the facts.  Then we act, in concert, unified with our neighbors, to end the silliness and demand that those responsible pay for their misdeeds and felonious actions!  We use the laws they have shunned to force accountability.  Believe it or not, the answer really is this simple!Bird of Prey

Beware the smoke and mirrors the media is casting and the politicians are hiding in; they are trying to get away with criminal misdeeds while attention is focused elsewhere!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Contentious Voices – Exerting Control

QuestionA colleague of mine mentioned something in passing that has me thinking about the contentious voices surrounding our lives.  Consider with me for a moment; when the last time you heard just the news was?  No commentary, no hidden bias, no reporting for emotional reaction, simply a description of the events of the day, news?  I cannot remember when I last heard a news report.  It seems that to get the local news, I have to question the motives on the stories, compare news broadcasts for opinions and biases, tune into three or four different radio stations and compare them to the TV, and those to the newspapers, and even then, 90% of what is reported still has to be discounted.

My colleague mentioned that the efforts of contentious voices are to exert emotional control over the audience, for if the audience is emotionally controlled, they are physically controlled.  If they are physically controlled, they can be bent, shaped, and molded into weapons of self-destruction for the entertainment of those controlling the contentious voices.  This insight has me thinking—self-destruction through contentious voices exerting control, all through unbridled emotional understanding.

Exclamation MarkWhen emotional intelligence was first coming out, feel free to read the early papers and books on this topic if you doubt what I am reporting.  Emotional intelligence was declared as the ability to read the emotions in a room and then control the people through their emotions.  For which I have adamantly opposed emotional intelligence as a concept since inception.  I have always felt that trying to control others through their emotions is wrong, in poor taste, and can easily backfire when those being controlled wake up and realize what has been happening to them.  Yet, emotional intelligence has grown as a concept, has broadened in scope, and no one is asking why anymore.  Well, I am, and so are a few others, but the media is working hard to keep us silenced and sidelined as “aluminum hat-wearing non-conformists.”

Yet, contentious voices continue to prey upon people’s emotions nightly and call this “learned commentary,” “democracy dying in darkness,” “in-depth reporting,” and “fair and balanced news,” among many other things.  Republicans against Democrats, Liberals against conservatives, eco-Nazis from both extremes of the planet is going to hell debate, and the list of contentious voices is long and formidable.  Yet, they all have the same playbook, use emotional hooks, sink the emotional hook deeply, and keep pulling that emotional hook every time a person tries to think for themselves.

Dont Tread On MeWell, I would see you escape the hook, wake up mentally, and arise as a powerful individual.  Capable of independent thought and able to reason and think using your own instinct, talents, skills, and innate reasoning.  I am not making a plea to your emotions, and if you ever think I am playing to your emotions, feel free to call me out!  I am not here to enslave your mind, but to free your soul and empower your spirit, to support your goodness, and justify you being the free-thinking person you already are!

Thus, the following reminders regarding emotions.  These are not my thoughts; they originate from Robert Solomon’s incredible book “Not Passion’s Slave: Emotions and Choice,” which you can purchase from any reputable bookseller for a minimal fee or find in a local library.  If you are close to New Mexico, send me an email to lend you my copy.Not Passion's Slave - Emotions and Choice

  • Solomon begins his book with a quote from Jean-Paul Sartre:
    • For the idea which I have never ceased to develop is that in the end, one is always responsible for what is made of one. Even if one can do nothing else besides assume this responsibility.  For I believe that a man can always make something out of what is made of him.  This is the limit I would today accord to freedom: the small movement which makes of a totally conditioned social being someone who does not render back completely what his conditions has given him.”
  • Emotions involve social narratives as well as physical responses, and an analysis of emotions is an account of our way of being-in-the-world.”
    • Emotions are not occurrences and do not happen to us.
      • Emotions are rational and purposive rather than irrational and disruptive, are very much like actions, and that we choose an emotion much as we choose a course of action.”
    • Emotions are intentional: that is, emotions are “about” something.
      • All emotions are ultimately “about” the world and never simply “about” something particular.
      • Feelings do not have “directions.” The relationship between my being angry and what I am angry about is not contingent between a feeling and an object.
    • Emotions change with our opinions, and so are “rational” in a very important sense.
      • But the rationality of the emotion is time-sensitive, socially sensitive, and environmentally contingent. Unless our societal makeup allows this emotional crossover, emotions cannot often cross between social situations, peer groups, and environments.
      • The cause of an emotion is a function in a certain kind of explanation.
        • Contentious voices know this as a truth and use their contention to drive the emotional functionality of the arguments to spur emotional growth to your detriment!
      • The line between emotions and beliefs is often negligible and non-existent.
        • Another truth contentious voices use to spur emotional hooking in the audience to the audience’s detriment and destruction.
      • Emotions are a normative judgment.
        • We decide the correctness of emoting, based upon the social, environmental, and peer aspects at the time the information is provided.
        • Emotions are cognitive judgments of socially wired animals (humans) who use the lightning reflexes of the brain to make these judgments for personal benefits in a social situation, advancing peer associations, or to survive in a specific environment.
        • Emotions change with our knowledge of the causes of those emotions.

Bobblehead DollOn this last point, consider Joe Biden and his words to different audiences on the campaign trail.  To one audience, he pledged to put oil company officers in jail for unspecified environmental crimes.  To another audience, he promised not to kill coal.  Both declarations were later denounced as verbal gaffes, miss spoken words taken out of a larger context, and phrases that did not mean anything on the campaign trail.  Yet, the words fit the emotion being witnessed, and the crowd forming the environment and peer group being addressed.  All politicians do this, and it is referred to as “politicking” or “playing to the audience’s emotions.”

Finally, consider something with me, a thought, those controlling the contentious voices believe you, the audience, their slaves, for they can control your emotions, like 2-year-olds control play-dough.  Are you a slave?  Will you master your emotional judgments to protect yourself and your family?  The choice is yours, and yours alone to make.  All I can do is offer information and ask for your consideration.  But I will make a promise; if you refuse to master your emotions, you will be destroyed by the contentious voices clamoring for your attention.  These breeders of contention will pull you apart emotionally, creating depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other self-destruction options.

Image - Eagle & FlagThose terrorists rioting over the spring and summer of 2020 were pawns and self-destructive actors to the contentious voices.  We are all living in a time where social influencers play the most extensive role in the lives of people than ever before, and they can play this role because we have unbridled our emotions and refuse to believe that emotions are a choice, a judgment, and a tool for social integration.  While the masses are not taught these things, those controlling the contentious voices know these truths, but they also practice hiding this information to destroy the groups they enslave.  Please, free yourself from bondage, take control of your emotions, and never allow anyone to control them ever again!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

The Proper and Improper Role of Government – Chapter 5: Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, and Envy

Bird of PreyAs a kid, the USSR loomed as an ever-present force that could at anytime wipe America off the map with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.  Of course, America would retaliate with nuclear weapons, and this would create MAD or “mutually assured destruction.”  People understood MAD was bad, but the communists among us were more insidious about portraying communism.  The news media showed bread lines, soap lines, and the bitter pictures of enslavement under communism.  Thus, socialism was the way to go, and the communists were selling socialism as the better way to government.

Except, socialism is communism light, and when the socialists run out of other people’s money, communism takes over.  All because under capitalism, the results of one’s choices and consequences are harsh and cannot be hidden. Those preaching socialism and communism were envious of the capitalists who achieved and wanted what others possessed but without the hard work required to obtain benefits.

One other reality is critical to understanding the role of socialism; there is an axiom that states something like, “today’s students are tomorrow’s government policymakers.”  This is precisely what has happened; the students of the 1960s are now setters of government policy, holding onto the reigns of power through sheer willpower, to see America die before they do.  Socialism has been taught in the classrooms of government-mandated schools since the early 1900s to purposefully bring down the liberty and freedoms of the citizens of every representative government, out of envy for those in power in communist countries.  Refusing to believe that under communism, less than .01% are powerful, rich, and mighty, whereas everyone else suffers, grovels, and struggles!Plato 3

Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism – Detailed for understanding.

What is communism?  Webster relates that communism is “A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which the people equally share all goods.”  Except, everywhere communism has been tried, one-party rule leads to sycophants and ideologues ruling and taking what they want, while everyone else suffers, held in power by hired guns.  Cuba was an incredible island nation, then Fidel Castro came along, and now Cuba is a cesspool of suffering, misery, and stagnation.  Venezuela used to be the crown jewel of South America; now, it is a war zone, a catastrophe, and a pit of wasted potential.  Czarist Russia was no picnic, but it was much greater than the vulture of communism that feasted on the body of Czarist Russia while it poisoned the world.  China before communism was enlightened, capable, able, and has joined the ranks of failed communist planning and operations.Plato 2

What is socialism?  Socialism is defined in Webster as “Any of [the] various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.”  As well as, “The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which the means of production are collectively owned, but an utterly classless society has not yet been achieved.”  Is the connection clear as to why socialism is referred to as “communism light?”

One last point about socialism, “legislation intended to improve the condition of the working-man. Among the measures include the insurance of workmen against accident, sickness, and old age, and the establishment of cooperative associations under state protection.”  Envy of other countries having benefits has caused legislation that never should have happened in America and many other representative governments due to costs, loss of liberty and freedom, and the destruction of fundamental processes in the “Rule of Law.”  How expensive has unemployment insurance been in non-monetary costs?  Jobs have been lost forever, the expense of hiring has pushed jobs out of America, the expense has reduced wages of those lucky enough to be hired, but the growth of government and the millstone of bureaucrats has cost more than money, we have lost liberty, freedom, and potential.The Duty of Americans

What is capitalism?  The common definition of capitalism in Webster states capitalism is “An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned, and development occurs through the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.”  Webster’s dictionary has come under the same influence of plastic words and liberal ideology.  Webster also defines capitalism as “The concentration or massing of capital in the hands of a few; also, the power or influence of large or combined capital.”  Do a few condense capital; yes, no doubt.  Except, when there is less government, and people keep their envy to themselves, capitalism brings the most freedom to the most people better than any other form of government attempted in human history.  So, while capitalism has its faults, which are legion, capitalism is not the problem as it embraces private property ownership.  Private property ownership is freedom from government oppression!Patriotism

Please note, it is entirely acceptable to reach a level of financial comfort, look around, see suffering, and want to aid in the relief of suffering.  This is a good thing and expected in a capitalistic system.  Those paying for the relief of suffering are not government officials hired through forced taxation.  In a socialized system, the money is stolen, legally, through forced taxation, then handed freely to those suffering, with several cuts made for wages and benefits of the workers doling out other people’s money.  In a communist system, political leaders get fat and enjoy all the benefits, while everyone else suffers without relief.  Yet, too many people would see you in a communist system and suffer, for there is no envy.  If you believe that, I have a gravity-resistant bridge to the moon for you to buy.

Envy

Social Justice Warriors 4Envy has been one of the seven deadliest sins for a reason; it breeds violence and discontent.  Webster shines a light on envy describing it this way, “A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.”  Fear is disgust and envy paired for the weak to overcome the powerful.  The disease of envy includes admiration, jealousy, discontent, disbelief, lies, and a host of emotions that overwhelm a person’s mind to the point where they become irrational and hostile.  Another resource claims envy (from Latin invidia) is an emotion that occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desire it or wishes that the other lacked it. Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another’s good fortune, stirred by “those who have what we ought to have.”

While academics continue to split hairs between jealousy and envy and strive to create more distinctions, what has been described regarding envy is sufficient for my purposes.  The purpose of discussing envy is to aid in clearing the confusion surrounding envious people who have a modicum of power, as they perceive it, and then abuse that power for their own benefit.  For example, Trump Derangement Syndrom (TDS) was already a disease long before President Trump left the private sector for the political arena.  TDS remains rooted in envious people acting violently, abusing power, and acting unethically and immorally because of the envy they feel for President Trump’s success.Social Justice Warrior 3

Consider Speaker Pelosi (D), who ripped her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union speech up in front of cameras.  She was jealous; her pride was hurt, and she felt envious and lacked a weapon to harm the president, so she acted immaturely and disrespected the sitting president.  All this because, at heart, Speaker Pelosi (D) is nothing but a shallow and useless person, stuck in Congress and hating every minute of her tenure there because she could not obtain a higher office.  She is envious of the Americans she despises and works 24/7/365 to destroy America, all because of her envy of other people’s success.

Social justice warriors, including President Obama, are full of envy and do everything they can to obtain revenge for self-inflicted wrongs.  Envious people hate consequences for the choices they make.  Envious people turn to drugs, alcohol, and other forms of self-medication, which in turn makes their self-loathing and self-hate worse.  Then, these same envious people curse the success of others while demanding that someone else pay for the help they need to overcome their self-inflicted consequences.Social Justice Warrior 2

I recently talked to a gentleman who was severely upset that democrats stole the 2020 elections, stuffing ballot boxes, allowing illegal immigration, and a host of other crimes that occur for votes.  While I can understand his distress, he was envious of a political party for their success at suborning American Law.  He left the conversation mad because he could not understand the role of envy in himself and what he was observing in others.  Worse, the belief that justice and mercy are alive keeps him from acting to help change the situation, shift the paradigm, and improve the problems he mentioned to a solution.  Envy captures the mind, placing shades and shutters over logic while unlocking emotion, many times without the person realizing what is occurring until that mind is chained in the captivity of envy.

IronyThere is a reason why envy is a deadly sin in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, mentioned in all the ancient books as a problem, and continues to infect people who refuse to learn.  Unbridled emotions are captivity, not freedom!  There is danger in the extremes of everything.  Envy is in the extremes and imitates a minimal issue to capture the mind and control the person.  Consider this, capitalism is the best, and envious people implement socialism to chain capitalism while rooting for communism to come in a takeover, thinking they will be better off and the “rich will finally pay their fair share.”  Reality is always disappointing for envious people, and the result will be that everyone detests them when their plans come to fruition.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

NO MORE BS: Highlights (?) of the first 100-Days

Theres moreOn this momentous day, marking 100-days of the fraudulent president, I thought it fitting to mark the occasion by reminding everyone of freedom grabbing runaway government promoted by President Biden.  As CNN so clearly stated, “To date, 10 of President Biden’s actions on immigration have been reversals of President Trump’s policies.”  Begging the question, do you feel safer in your home now, or this time four years ago?  I know my answer, and I am looking forward to your thoughts.

To date, President Biden has made 50-end runs around the US Constitutional process through executive orders.  For the record, you could take President Trump (38) or Obama (34), add them with President Bush II (13), and still not max out President Biden’s lead.  I have written about executive orders and why I detest this singular action made in a free Republic (if we can keep it) by any leading elected official, Mayor, Governor, or President.  The US Constitution does not need more beatings coming from leading executives, but less.  Much, much, less executive actions, executive orders, and singular people acting “for the good of all” without Congressional representation.  Why use CNN; because as the biggest cheerleaders for the fraudulent president, they have the clearest cheering squad.

Detective 2Examining closer the 50-executive orders issued by President Biden, we find the most egregious of these orders, raising the minimum wage of Federal Contract Workers from $10.95 to $15.00 by 2022 and eliminating the tipped minimum wage by 2024.  I am thoroughly unfamiliar with any federally contracted jobs that fall under the tipped minimum wage.  Thus, I can only presume the president is now arbitrarily setting the minimum wage for the country without congressional approval—leaving serious questions behind about the legality of this executive order.  Where is Congress in exerting its power and rights to set minimum wage?

A minimum wage is a serious issue; any time the wage goes up, jobs are lost.  A competent first-year economics major can trace that cause and effect line easily!  There are direct causal relationships between high school kids needing employment and not finding it due to the minimum wage laws.  This group of uneducated workers extends to many low-income families, minorities, and many others trying to find work as laborers and cannot find jobs.  Yet, as a political stunt, the president signs an executive order, betrays the US Constitution, upsets the separate but equal branches of government balance, and somehow this is a “nothing burger.”  I beg to differ, vociferously!

Detective 4Another interesting aspect of the president’s first 100-days is immigration.  The current president’s Trump Derangement Syndrome has him reversing 10 of President Trumps Executive Orders and writing two additional immigration-related orders.  The plasticization of modular language reveals the tyranny of ruling by executive order!  The terms “fair,” “equitable,” “just,” “proper,” etc., all point to the president’s desire to see America devalued by illegal immigrants.  Look at the rhetoric used by the president to “explain” why he has reversed, revoked, and wrecked the legal immigration process, and you will find that through Congressional inaction.  With Congresses’ refusal to exert its rights, the president can do anything he wants on immigration, and Congress’s leadership just cheers!

To the US House and US Senate, I must ask, where are you?  Did you take a taxpayer-paid vacation and stopped caring that you are a co-equal branch of the government?  Do you think the judicial branch will stop the president’s runaway government by executive fiat?  Do you believe that the American people stopped caring that the president is giving away America, one illegal alien at a time, and we would not notice?  Why are you not scrutinizing the executive branch and exerting your rights, standing up for your voice, and making sure you are playing a role in the governance of America?

PatriotismI have been insulted, denigrated, derided, and many other things for my stand that every president should have a contentious Congress!  I firmly believe that when a president has a contentious Congress, the will of America’s people is better respected, observed, and through the process of working together, real compromise occurs.  But, what do we see in the US House of Representatives; we see a Speaker who is also the majority leader and the minority leader abdicating their duties to their caucuses and the US House of Representatives.  We see members of the US House race-baiting, employing every card in the deck of identity politics deck and refusing even to acknowledge the other party.  But, the US Senate, if anything is worse, and the US Senate’s problems can be traced directly to the executive actions of Speaker Harry Reid (D) during President Obama’s tenure.

Millstone of Designed IncompetenceAmerica, we learned a lot about the “families” presenting themselves at the US Southern Border for entry into America.  We learned about child prostitution, children being “attached” to two strange adults and calling it a “family.”  We learned about a lot of schemes to feed the growing human trafficking problem in the United States.  Yet, the media continues to call the separation of “families” unfair, and the president has proved he learned nothing but smoke and mirrors.  At the same time, these children are raped, abused, disappeared, and destroyed, all through executive order instead of legislated demand!  Legitimate families should be kept together, but until documentation can be obtained, separating the families for the safety of the children should be paramount!  Sorting through the MS-13 plants is not uncaring; it protects America’s main streets from terrorists!  But, these immigration policies, designed by President Trump, are hated by the media; so, these policies have to go.  Thus, I ask again, do you feel safer in your home or not?

The Duty of AmericansI was never a President Trump (R) supporter; but, I did, and do, support anyone willing to try new ideas to make America safer.  I am not a supporter of holding children indefinitely in nice hotels when veterans are homeless and fully support an America FIRST agenda.  But, I also firmly believe that the churches and non-profit groups of America can organize to help in a humane way better than runaway government supported by executive fiat!

ApathyAmerica, we need legislation on immigration, NOT executive orders that change as frequently as the president!  I have maintained this stance, publicly, since President Reagan signed the first orders providing paths to citizenship for illegals.  The illegal immigration policies in America can be directly traced to President Roosevelt and WWII executive orders allowing foreign workers access to America’s jobs in agriculture.

Feel free to look this historical tidbit up, and ask yourself, are you safer in your homes and places of business with executive orders or legislation?  Are you feeling more secure in your finances with runaway executive actions or through the “Rule of Law?”  Do you prosper more under one “Rule of Law” or under identity politics where every single identity can request special treatment, special laws, and special rights?

Image - Eagle & FlagIf the fraudulent president has proved anything in his first 100-days, he has proved America is in trouble, DEEP Trouble, due to the executive orders, runs around the constitutional process, and the abdication of Congressional rule (legislative branch) at all levels of government.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this president has proved that bigger government is a millstone dragging this Republic down.  Finally, this president has proven you cannot “trust” the government and must watch it like a toddler running with a knife!  So, CNN, and all the other corporate media outlets, you cheer the fraudulent president; but don’t you dare try to claim this is a good thing for America!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

NO MORE BS: Hypocrites, Liars, and Thieves Edition

Boris & NatashaThe pattern left to the reader in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of foremost importance to what we are witnessing in democratically governed societies the world over.  If ever a time was presented when the people need to know and then act, that time is now.  I intend to start the conversation on liars, thieves, and hypocrites with clarity, example and offer for your consideration patterns that spot the deceit.  Once deceit is spotted, it is as glaring as a bloodstain on a white satin dress.  You cannot look past that mark!

What is a Hypocrite?

Hypocrites are those who wear masks of decency and outward morality, but live lives of deception, believing that, like Dr. Jekyll, they can live a double life and never be discovered.  From James’s New Testament writings, we find that “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).  According to Webster, a hypocrite is one who practices hypocrisy.  According to Webster, those who practice hypocrisy are living, “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.”  To Nathaniel Hawthorne goes the last word on hypocrites, “No man (person) for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”

What is a Liar?

DetectiveAccording to Webster, a liar is a person who tells lies.  Lying is defined by Webster as, “an intentionally false statement.”  Is the distinction clear; the liar knows the truth and intentionally misleads the audience, always for personal gain.  From William Shenstone, we find an eternal truth, “A liar begins with making falsehoods appear like truth, and ends with making truth itself appear like a falsehood.”  The pattern detailed by William Shenstone is precise and speaks to one of the most deceitful practices of all, making truth appear as a falsehood to sell a bunch of lies.  As a kid, I was often told that the devil will tell you one truth to help you believe a thousand lies.

What is a thief?

According to Webster, a thief is “a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.”  During my undergraduate degree program, another student would regularly plagiarize my weekly posts as their own work, then had the temerity to try and claim I was plagiarizing them.  I had a habit of posting the weekly posts the first day of the new week, the timestamps on my posts proved my work was mine, and the student eventually disappeared from my cohort.  Plagiarism is a fancy word for intellectual property theft.  Plagiarism used to get politicians kicked out of politics, except the current Commander in Chief is a well-known plagiarizer. He is being honored with keeping his job and getting promoted beyond his maximum level of incompetence.  The fraudulent president, Biden’s first act in office, was to plagiarize President Trump on COVID response, vaccine response and belittled President Trump for doing the right thing.

LookWhy is this important?

The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde speaks volumes on issues being combatted right now.  Dr. Jekyll had conquered himself; his person was morally upright, had integrity, and had a worthy reputation.  But, then drugs came along, and the drugs made Mr. Hyde, who was evil incarnate.  Eventually, the drugs would no longer bring back Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde conquered, and Dr. Jekyll was destroyed.

All my life, I have been told, “Honorable people do not get into politics, and politicians never work at honest labor.”  Yet, I cannot help but ask, “Why are people who lie, thieve, and practice hypocrisy allowed to represent anyone?”  It was 1987-1988, while watching the presidential race get whittled down to Bush I and Dukakis, I heard Jesse Jackson and Al Gore one night talking, and thought I would not invite these people into my home, why are they allowed to run for president?  Over time this thought has returned, in one election between two particularly vile election choices (Obama and Romney) I was told to “Hold my nose, lift my skirts, and vote for Romney as the ‘lesser of two evils.”  I am happy to report, I voted for Donald Duck!

I will not give my permission to represent me, e.g., my vote, to someone I would never invite into my home as a guest.  I have had to learn to research candidates, research issues, use critical thinking, and even then, make mistakes.  Yet, I know that when we, the electorate, stand together and refuse the thieves, liars, and hypocrites a political office, we are better as a nation, a state, a county, a city, and a community.

Andragogy - LEARNExamples:

New York City Mayor De Blasio ordered COVID, infected patients, into long-term care facilities (nursing homes). The numbers are finally coming to light that 13,197 additional COVID patients were created, where 4080 died!  The mayor has refused responsibility for these deaths, pain, suffering, and increased medical costs.  The mayor of New York City has consistently lied throughout the COVID/Government Panic; people have died, resources wasted, and the person most responsible refuses accountability.  Thus showing Mayor De Blasio is a liar, a thief, and a hypocrite!

Big Tech, for several years now, has been actively engaged in intentionally misleading consumers.  When Facebook’s thought police remove data that asks honest questions as misleading, the consumer is being lied to.  When LinkedIn edits posts arbitrarily and refuses First Amendment rights to everyone, all consumers using LinkedIn are being stolen from, lied to, and LinkedIn proves it is a hypocrite.  Due to political leanings, Twitter illegally suppressing First Amendment rights to President Trump over a trumped-up charge is lying, stealing, and acting as a hypocrite!

November 2009, the Climate Research Unit became “Climategate,” ripped the scab off the festering wounds called Climate Change.  The emails released showed how statistics were employed to lie, cheat, steal, and then the hypocritical scientists claimed that their lies were truth.  Except, a lie cannot be a truth, and making a truth appear as a lie, does not change the lie into a truth.  By gaming the peer-review process, climate science lies have been peddled, and politicians have gotten rich off climate lies and climate lawfare.  I am not claiming that humans could not be better stewards of resources.  I am arguing that draconian government mandates are never the answer to changing behaviors of individuals.

The Duty of AmericansThe hinge upon which the lies, thieves, and hypocrites will eventually hang.

How does a person tell a liar from a truth-teller; the person’s intent.  How do you know a person’s intent; observe them.  Are their actions producing good results, or are they producing poisoned fruit and hurting others?  Intent is a legal term, and the following is essential as we observe for consequences of actions, words, and results.

What are the 3 types of intent?

The three common-law intents ranked in order of culpability are malice aforethought, specific intent, and general intent.  Malice aforethought is a special common-law intent designated for only one crime: murder.  The definition of malice aforethought is “intent to kill.”  Specific intent is the intent to bring about a particular result, do something other than the criminal act.  General intent is simply the intent to perform the criminal action.

Consider the following, Bill Engvall tells a story of his little toddler boy walking over to the sleeping cat and kicking the cat.  When questioned, the little boy claims, “It was an accident.”  Yet, the keen observer watched him walk across the room and intentionally kick the cat.  Last summer, Speaker Pelosi (D) deliberately refused, for political gain, to collaborate with other lawmakers and pass COVID Relief legislation.  Essentially refusing to perform her most basic job as a Congressional Representative.  Speaker Paul Ryan (R) intentionally refused to pass a budget, and the government was shutdown.  Intentions are the actions we take, regardless of our words, that prove where our priorities are and how we think about our jobs.

Detective 4Consider the following headline from NPR, “After Record 2020 Turnout, State Republicans Weigh Making it Harder to Vote.”  The title itself is misleading, the article is very biased, and voting problems go deeper than the fraud and misfeasance witnessed in November 2020.  The 2020 primaries were a disaster!  The 2018 election cycle was a farrago.  The 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000 elections cycles have steadily worsened in fraud, idiocy in counting, technological blunders, and intentional theft of elections.  Hence, NPR’s intent is to employ smoke screens and mirrors to obfuscate and denigrate, lie, cheat, steal, and be hypocrites of the fact that the only people who receive help from poorly performed election processes are Democrats!  As a media channel, NPR’s job is to keep people confused so the charade of elections can continue. They are proving intent to harm and be hypocritical.

How does a person fight back?

  1. Learn the candidates, look past the makeup, the façade, and the media representations.
  2. Ask tougher questions. In order to learn, we must ask questions and never be satisfied with answers.
  3. When we teach others, we learn more perfectly.  As we learn more perfectly, we are inspired to teach more.
    • Who do we teach, ourselves, our families, discussions with friends, and writing down your thoughts on a blog are all good and useful methods for teaching, to power better learning.
  4. Start locally, clean up local politics first. Thus, get involved with the city council, the mayor, the county board, the school board.  Demand to be heard.
  5. Support good people around you, support the efforts to learn, support your neighbors as they begin to explore that which is familiar to you.
  6. Stop allowing the media and politicians to separate, classify, divide, and name. I am an American!  That title is sufficient!

Image - Eagle & FlagAmerican – A(h) Me I Can!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the photos displayed.