Opus 2018-200: Today or Tomorrow

This week we visited the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan.  It was an interesting tour which included a short video.  One of the quotes from Reagan dealt with him being sent to the Principal’s office.  He remembered the principal saying to him, “I am not concerned about how you feel about me today.  I am concerned about how you feel about me in 15 years.”

This connected with me because one of the points I continually made with students was that I really did not care how they felt today.  They wanted to play football with failing grades.  I kept refusing to sign the paper and they would get frustrated with me.  I kept telling them that my concern was how they felt about life in twenty years.  This is important to remember in the area of discipline.  Our concern should not be the self esteem the student is feeling this minute but the life lessons learned that can give them a reason to have solid self esteem when they grow up.

Education has abandoned that principle.  Too many parents have abandoned that principle.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-199: On the Street: People to the Left of me...

We are on the road.  I am enjoying the time we are spending with friends and family.  At the same time I am totally worn out.  I am an introvert.  People drain me.  Non-stop people just keeps sucking it out of me.  My wife is just the opposite.  She thrives on having people around.  She is driven to interact.  When we went to the doctors office I thought I was safe but as we waited for the receptionist to get to us she initiated a conversation with an unsuspecting man waiting for his wife.  When we flew recently she talked the entire flight with the woman next to her while the husband slept and I read a book.

We are all so different.  Life is complex.  Since we are on a road trip I have no place to escape.  If I start going crazy, let me know.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-198: On the Street: Vocabulary Lessons

As I continue to learn from the antics of people around me I am realizing that there are a couple of words I need to remove from my vocabulary:  Always and never.  If I can’t remove them I need to be careful how I use them.

This insight was gained by a recent “discussion” in which I was accused of always doing one disgusting thing and never doing another.  It reminds me of one of my favorite bits of bathroom humor.  How many men does it take to put down a toilet seat?  We don’t know because it has never been done.  I think it is funny but I also know that it didn’t take two many experiences of sitting down on the cold reality of the toilet rim to get me into the proper habit.

I won’t bother sharing all of the things I “never” do or the many that I “always” complete.  I am sure that your list would overlap quite a bit with mine.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-197: Social Security Is Watching You

I went in for my first annual physical since going on Social Security.  The first thing I learned was that it is no longer an annual physical.  It in now an annual “wellness check”.  My wife was informed that the doctor would not touch us.  After a life time of being poked and prodded it seems that we have reached the level where none of that is necessary any more.  I was also told that they did not do the blood test for prostrate cancer anymore.  I can only assume that they hope we will just keel over and die.

Although the doctor did not have the time to check for hernia or swollen liver or any of the other things he could have looked at in a couple of minutes he did have a long list of questions to ask.  He started of by explaining, “Don’t get mad.  I am required to ask these questions.”  At the first one I had to laugh, “Do you know what year this is?”  I laughed because when I had signed the form at the front desk I had written 2017 instead of 2018.  It is a good thing I caught it and changed it.  He then went on to wonder if I had felt depressed or had a lack of interest in things.  He wanted to know if I had throw rugs in my house.  The last question was about having smoke detectors in my house.

This is your government in action.  They want to trap you into seeming to be crazy.  I wonder what would have happened if I did not know the county I was in or the state I lived in.  Would I have gone on a list that the government keeps to try and restrict my other freedoms because I was not competent?  Perhaps this is the first level of the death panels that will later decide who gets treatment and who doesn’t.

I am more worried about a hernia.  I guess I will know when my intestines start to stick out past my belly button.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-196: Just Call Me Paul

If you have not heard about Paul Manafort being declared guilty then you are lucky.  I was going to say you need to get out more but changed my mind.  It is all we will be hearing about for ages.  Most of us are missing the point.  The point is not was he guilty or not, the question is why was he indicted in the first place.  This is the kind of event that should send chills down the back of every law abiding America.

Someone made the point that no one can go through the day without doing something that could get them in trouble with the government.  Set aside breaking the law.  The number of laws are dwarfed by the number of regulations put out daily by unelected bureaucrats.  There are so many that no one can know all of them.  Have you ever seen the shelves of notebooks and references that your tax man has?  That is just from the IRS.  Add all the regulations from EPA, DWP, DMV, and every other agency that wants to regulate your life.  Have your tried to adopt a pet recently?  You need to sign away your life and in some cases have a social worker visit your home. 

Did Paul Manafort break any laws?  Let’s assume he did whatever they are talking about.  The reason he was in solitary confinement is not that he broke the law.  It was because the Meuller witch hunt thought that they could coerce him into giving them dirt on Donald Trump.  The laws he broke had nothing to do with Donald Trump or his campaign.  They had nothing to do with Russia.  The offenses were from years ago.  If he had never met Donald Trump he would be a free man today.  This is a tactic that the left uses to intimidate their political enemies.  They have a number of tactics besides this.  Think of Robert Bork and the character assassination he went through.  Think of the attacks Clarence Thomas had to face.  Have you picked up how the media and their DNC clones have been going after the e-mails of Judge Kavanaugh’s wife?  These people have no shame and no moral fiber.  And of course there is the growing list of people who mysteriously die or commit suicide after they get on Hillary’s bad side.

We life in scary times.  The left is like a lawn mower trying to cut off any bloom that dares to rise above the grass.  Pray for the president and hope he can bring real change.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-195: Just Call Me Alex

Why should we be concerned when someone like Alex Jones is banned by social media?  Think about it.  Although I have little experience with his broadcasts I know who he is.  He has quite a following.  I would assume in the millions.  Yet they blocked his access.  If they get away with it against someone as popular as he is it will be no big deal for them to come for you.  You have probably heard the quote about how “When they came for the gypsies I said nothing because I wasn’t a gypsy.”  And remember that it ends, “When they came for me....”  You can apply it to any area of liberty we have.  Take the issue of freedom of speech that is being attacked.  They say they are in favor of freedom of speech but only when it is fair and tolerant.  Of course the elites are the ones who decide what is fair and tolerant.  Or the Second Amendment.  They started with machine guns and have been after something called an “assault rifle” for years.  Of course in their definition a Ruger 10/22, possibly the most popular gun in America can be an assault rifle if you add certain cosmetic attachments.  The liberals in our society are the omnipresent camels nose that is under the tent.

Be concerned.

Why should we not be concerned?  Because social media is a business and in a free market economy they can only do what their customers will allow.  We do not need government regulation.  We don’t need any new laws passed.  What we need are people ending their participation.  Will it be inconvenient?  Not for me but it will for millions.  Is it worth it?  I think so but I am giving up nothing in this case.  If enough people cancel their accounts and stop clicking on the Icons their add revenue will nose dive and you will find out just how committed they are to their cause. 

To paraphrase someone else’s line, “You are Alex Jones”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-194: On the Street: Fake News Ratings

Based on my brief exposure to CNN I keep wondering how they get any numbers on the surveys.  I know they are low but not low enough.  Who would waste their time listening to the anti-Trump and anti-traditional values that flows out of the talking heads.  For a week I was forced to block out the CNN nonsense.  My mind was beginning to turn to jelly even though I was not listening. 

Then I realized that the only reason CNN has any ratings left is because they are on in every lobby and waiting room in the country.  I don’t know if you get out enough to notice but you tend to get CNN in every public space.  We try to change it to Fox.  Sometimes we are successful.  Sometimes we are not.  I think there must be some way in which the ratings people count all the victims walking through lobbies, trapped in waiting rooms, crowded into airports and too far away to find the controls.

It could also be that the ratings are as fake as the news.

homo unius libri