The post WELFARE! (Can be sung to the tune of DOWNTOWN BY Petula Clark in 1964) appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

I have two Facebook accounts.

The smaller one, has mostly friends and relatives who know me. Some disagree with me but practice restraint and courtesy. We have amicable discussions in which we learn additional information on the subjects we review and, through our disagreements, we learn aspects of both sides of many topics.

The larger account, aboomersthoughts.com, is related to this site. For that reason, I have opened it up to a much larger audience. The problem that comes with this decision is that I am often attacked by people who don’t know me and don’t agree with me. Some of these attacks come over posts I feel are lighthearted or even humorous.

While I feel I am just conservative, I fear I am viewed as “Far Right” mostly because our society is losing its’ middle. For the purpose of arguments, I feel, our country has started to place everyone into groups- Black, White, Rich, Underprivileged- not poor, Physically fit, Fat, Beautiful, Ugly, Far Right, Far Left, Pro-Gun, Anti-Gun, Pro-Life, Pro-Abortion/ Choice, and many more. I fear, hopefully my fear is unfounded, that this is being done with a plan in mind.

My fear is that the plan is based on the premise that it is easier to conquer and/or control a divided mass.

I would not have thought this many years ago. I would not have thought this even a few years ago. But I do think this now.

While I’m conservative I do not consider myself a Republican. I don’t believe either party serves “We the people” any longer. If the Republicans were doing what they claim they want to do, and were elected to do, we would not have a 35 trillion-dollar deficit!

Our forefathers gave us a form of government that has thrived for over 200 years! There is a story that when our country was still being formed a woman stopped Benjamin Franklin on the street and asked, “What form of government are you giving us?” and Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Is it possible that, after 200 years, the greedy among us have found a way to destroy our government?

Franklin and all of the founders were concerned about how long the fledgling country they had risked their lives and fortunes to establish would survive. They divided the government into three branches, each with the responsibility of overseeing one of the others. They assured that its’ citizens would have the right to own and carry arms, not for hunting as many of our greedy politicians say today! Our founding fathers assured that we would retain our right to own and carry guns to protect the citizens from the government! Remember, they had just fought a bloody revolution!

Against all odds they had initiated a revolt against the most powerful government of the day. If they had failed, they were aware, they would have been hung as traitors. These men were among the smartest of their day and they worked, argued, compromised, argued, worked and compromised some more to make the first government “Of the people, by the people and for the people.”

In his 817-page book, WASHINGTON, A LIFE, Ron Chernow documents many interesting facts about our country’s early leaders and founders. Among the facts that I found most interesting were the revelation that Washington almost went bankrupt more than once because he spent so much time away from Mt. Vernon. I always thought of him as completely successful, no idea he might have had trouble paying his bills! The other idea I was surprised to see was that serving in the government was meant to be a “temporary service” to the country. There was extended discussion on that topic; these elites of their time were anxious to make, or grow, their fortunes, but had no intention of doing that off of tax money! 

We have lost that completely (How many career politicians do you know of?). I believe, our country is being run by the many lobbyists who wine and dine our, mostly greedy, politicians. Government officials give millions, sometimes, billions of dollars’ worth of contracts to unions and private industries. These entities then “donate” large amounts back to the same government official(s).  Do you see a problem with that? I DO!!!

The last bill President Biden signed, I believe, was for $1.3 trillion, is all of that money being tracked? The answer is no!

Dennis Hastert, a retired wrestling coach at a high school, in the small farming community of Yorkville, IL went on to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was scandalized in 2015 when it became known that he had paid a former student $3.5 million to keep quiet about alleged sexual misconduct he had committed while he was working at the high school. Maybe I’m naive, but I figure, with his high school pension, Hastert was making around $300,000.00 a year- yet he was offering $3.5 million as a bribe. Perhaps I’m cheap, but I am not bribing someone that much unless I have much more in the bank- How about you? I wonder how he got all that extra money?

Do you remember when Maxine Waters encouraged her supporters to harass Republicans in restaurants and on the streets? I wonder if that was the “official beginning” of the rampant disrespect we experience on social media sites and, sometimes, in our daily lives? If that was the end of “civil discussion” and the beginning of families being separated because of different political beliefs?

I posted: “NONE OF YOUR PROBLEMS ARE BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE IS A BILLIONAIRE” on both my accounts. My smaller account was fine. But I got buried on the boomers account! Even after I explained that, per the IRS, the top 20% of income earners pay 84% of the taxes. I had people insisting that the “Rich” be punished for making so much. I, personally, don’t feel the thread would have gone that way if it was a face-to-face conversation. I believe social respect disintegrates, with many people, when there is a keyboard and screen involved.

In a last-ditch effort, I argued that taxes are not, and never were, designed to be a mechanism of social balancing! I was shouted down by the haters, and heavily supported by those who agreed with my view- maybe I was lucky it wasn’t a face-to-face discussion. There might have been a riot!!

Thank you for reading to the end. If you have any questions or comments please put them in the comment section.

Phil

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Our country is 35 Trillion dollars in debt! How can this be? We are arguably the most powerful country in the world! Arguably the richest country in the world! Yet we have more debt than we can hope to pay off! Why do I say that? I don’t think most people realize how much a trillion dollars is.

I found a good definition/explanation of a trillion that helps me to visualize that vast number. Scott Shellady, who is an internationally recognized figure and Adjunct Professor at DePaul University (2015) explains a trillion dollars as follows: “If you take a clock face, and each second is a dollar, it will take 11 days to run a million bucks off that clock in seconds. If you try to do a billion seconds, it takes 31 years. If you run a trillion seconds off of the clock, it would take 31,688 years.” In case you were curious, 35 trillion would take 1,109,080 years- in seconds!

The definition of a trillion, found in Oxford Languages Dictionary: A million million (1,000,000,000,000 or 10 to the 12th power).

How could the greatest nation in the world, in my opinion, fall that deep into debt? I’ll offer one more opinion. We are in this deep of debt because we are being lead/guided by ignorant and arrogant people.

An example would be, Alan Greenspan, Greenspan was Chairman of the U. S. Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006 (The face of the Federal Reserve Bank, which is the regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, arguably the most influential financial system in the world). In an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that was originally published on August 7th, 2011, Greenspan answered a question about the United States credit rating having recently been lowered by Standard and Poor’s credit reporting agency, due to the extreme debt held by the United States at that time. Greenspan’s reply was, “The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default.”

If one of my children or grandchildren had given that same answer, I would have quickly schooled them on the realities of life- but this was the one-time big money man of the U.S. Government! How could we not be in debt?

A basic moral and economic rule is debt accrued must be paid!

I can not remember the last time this country had a balanced budget, can you? What do you think would happen if any of us tried to run our households’ on “deficit spending?” My guess is that we would be on the street with all of our belongings while the new owners of our houses moved in! Who could argue with that outcome?

One last thing, Ronald Reagan’s successful plan to destroy The Soviet Union was to outspend them in the arms race. At that time, we had the resources. God help us if someone should issue that same challenge. Would you lend money to a country that was 35 trillion dollars in debt?

I hear people who should know better saying that we should support the “illegal aliens” we allowed to knowingly trespass on our soil. Others are saying we should “forgive” college government loans. I am saying we should stop spending like we just stole dad’s credit card and realize that we are closer to bankruptcy as a nation than is safe. Much closer!

We are the last lifeboat of the free world. We are filled overcapacity, and we are headed further into the ocean asking if anyone else needs help. We must turn around, head to shore and unload. We can not help others until we strengthen our foundation! We are, at this time, lacking the grown up in the room who needs to give some direction. Stop frivolous overspending!

If Greenspan’s way of thinking is acceptable we should find a country that’s willing to lend us a lot of money for bombs and ammunition. At some point, the countries we owe all this money to are going to come knocking on our door. I believe we would have to print a lot of money if we start with the knowledge that 35 trillion dollars, off the top, is not backed up by anything.

Sorry I started out with a tough one. How about this to lighten the mood a little?

I do not like social media posts that are not clear. I mean the one’s that show a picture of someone with a caption, “We are so proud!” or “I never thought this day would come!”

I joined social media, partially, as a way to connect with some of my many relatives who live out of town. I have seen some of them once or twice and thought it would be great to catch up in a casual way. I have also “Friended” some of my high school classmates who live out of town, friends who retired years ago and post occasionally.

If cousin Ricky, who I last saw at a reunion in 1989, posts, “This is the happiest day of our lives!” with a young female’s photograph my thoughts are. Is this a child who just got married? Graduated? Had a baby?… Will I seem uncaring to just hit like and move on. Would I be presumptuous to say “Congratulations!” Is this a younger picture of his wife? Is he married?

I’m sure that out of his 300 followers 25 or 50 know just what is going on. I wish that, for the rest of us, he would write a little more narrative. Just saying- as a disclaimer: I do not have any cousins named “Ricky” and the scenario listed above is made up. Any similarity to actual events is purely coincidental!

WE ARE SO PROUD!

I disagree with the big push by many politicians in many jurisdictions to raise the minimum wage. I live near Chicago and they recently enacted legislation to increase the minimum wage to $13/hr.

It’s apparent to me that these politicians never worked or owned small businesses. I owned a repair garage before I became a cop. I hired a kid to clean floors a couple of times a week. Business improved and I hired another kid. I paid them the minimum wage at the time, and they were thrilled to get some spending money in their pockets. If I had been forced, by the government, to increase their salary I would have laid one or both of them off and cleaned the floors myself.

One of the arguments for minimum wage increase is that people can’t live on it. Minimum wage is not supposed to be for heads of the household. It is for entry level workers like high school students or people looking to supplement income.

A problem I see with increasing the minimum wage is that it causes all wages to go up. That sounds great, on paper. But, as a small business owner I lived on a tight budget. Had I been forced to pay my floor washers more, my mechanics would have complained. If the bottom wages are forced up by legislation, the low wage earners could be laid off because they are no longer affordable- as I would have done. Another problem is that the larger businesses with more capitol will find ways to eliminate low wage positions altogether. It’s already happening. Most of the large retail and grocery stores are installing “self-check outs.” McDonalds has equipped many of its’ restaurants with their own form of self-checkouts.

Raising a large family on a policeman’s salary I opted not to play golf. Now that I’m retired I’m trying to “catch up” and learn this game. I have heard that God created golf to keep humanity humble and now that I’ve tried to learn it, I believe that’s true.

I’ve been trying to golf for about two years. Once I feel I have a handle on my long game, drives. I realize my irons and putting are on life support. I try to work on those and my driving game suffers. I’m scratching my head so much I have just realized I’m bald- my kids and ex-wife have now assured me the baldness was there long before the poor golf game. At any rate, I enjoy golf and look forward to the time that I don’t feel compelled to burn my scorecard before any outsiders can see it.

Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment on what you liked, what you agree with or what you don’t like.

Thanks

Phil

The post A FEW THOUGHTS FROM A GUY WHO KNOWS ABOUT AS MUCH AS YOU DO! appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

An attempt at poetry to make your weekend wonderful!

OLD AGE

Broken hips, from falls and slips, and all too common clumsy trips

Teeth fall out along with hair, while lounging in my underwear.

The internet, that crazy thing; is a challenge, but it’s interesting.

My kids may take me to a show, the whole time saying, I’m too slow!

Porn is in, and God is out. But time moves too fast to hear my shouts!

Weekend sports are not relaxing; the games filled up with questionable factsing!

The players often “take a knee” to say our cops act recklessly.

Perhaps I’ve been on Earth too long. I hardly hear my favorite songs.

Do we get the truth from network news? Or is it lies that they all spew?

Am I just an old man grumbling? Or are our “leaders” inept and bumbling?

Will we remain the land of the free and brave? Or does our country need to be saved?

Can we still say, “In God we trust?” Or is that part of us a bust?”

Our debt is several trillion dollars. And, as it grows nobody hollers!

I’m voicing concerns that, to me, are real as our president signs another spending deal!

I’ve seen a lot, some good, some bad. I’ve had a good life, and I’m glad.

I’m saddened by the debt we’re leaving to all who follow, no plans for relieving.

We can do much better, I know it’s true. Let’s turn off this tsunami before our time is through.

Let’s tell these creeps in DC who never say no. To stop spending our money, or they’ll have to go!

Thanks for reading to the end. Please leave a comment and follow me.

Phil

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I’ve addressed this before but, I hate it when a person driving in the left/passing/fast lane is going slower than the traffic in the lanes to the right. I hate it more when they speed up as I start to pass them!

I don’t like the fact that electric cars are being forced on us. They are not my choice of a reliable mode of transportation and the government is exceeding its’ authority, in my opinion, by mandating gas powered vehicles be banned in some states.

I hate the fact that the government gets away with calling Social Security payments benefits. They, I guess, mean that the money I have been forced to pay into a retirement fund they control since I was 13 is theirs. Calling that money a benefit is ludicrous and misleading!

I paid into it as an employee and as a small business owner. Currently employers and employees are required to pay 6.2% of salaries to social security. Those who declare as “self-employed” pay 12.4%. The resulting large cache’ of money is used to pay for many “pet projects” of the government, that is now saying social security may go bankrupt soon. Who’d a thought?

I looked up, “Which president borrowed money from social security” on my phone. I got many conflicting answers ranging from The Nasdaq response saying that congress has “borrowed” 2.9 trillion dollars from the Social Security Fund but has “promised to repay” it at 2.85% interest which would result in 85.1 billion dollars in interest income for the fund.

In contrast to that story is the one I found on https://georgebush-whitehouse.archives,gov which declares, “The government has borrowed $1,7 trillion from the social security trust fund. The government has borrowed the total value of the trust fund to pay for other government spending.”

The government started taxing social security income in 1984 after a series of amendments in 1983 (Reportedly with bi-partisan approval) www.ssa.gov. So, the money we are forced to pay, with a promise of at least portions of it being returned to us to help us in our retirement is now being taxed.

The money the government is forcing me, and all American wage earners to pay into a government run retirement fund, or disability insurance, will probably run out because the government is using it for other purposes, including funds for illegal aliens. These are the same officials who enter office as regular public servants and, quite often, leave office as multi-millionaires. EDITORIAL NOTE: There can’t be anything fraudulent there! Right? Could it be that our Social Security payments are ending up in their pockets?

I heard that the mainstream media is calling for Trump to be investigated for murder now.

What I heard is that a family video was recently discovered in which non-political Donald Trump (1990’s) was at a Johnny Cash concert and was heard to sing out, “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.” My source has told me that the Democratic leadership has announced that, “This is truly the ‘smoking gun’ we have been looking for.”

OK, that didn’t happen, but these days, who knows?

Trump is being indicted, on a regular basis, for saying that he believes the 2020 election was stolen. I believe it was stolen, but I guess I’m not important enough to arrest on the basis of my belief’s, and voicing them in a country that used to be known for its’ stance on freedom of speech!

Do you recall Hillary Clinton appearing on numerous shows 2016-2020 saying she believed the 2016 election was stolen? I do. I have not heard when her trial starts. I’m sure, since it’s the same crime, it will be coming up soon.

The best part of our political process is that anyone is allowed to protest against the government. Lawsuits can be, and are regularly, brought against local, county, state, and federal governments for false arrest, unfair treatment, and basically anything a citizen is not happy about can be brought to court and adjudicated. Except, I guess, for Trump.

I’ve been watching a lot of “late night” movies, please don’t judge me. One thing I’ve noticed is that the movies filmed in the 1940’s have an introduction that includes showing it was presented by MGM, United Artists, Universal or Columbia and then they go directly to the movie. I’ve also noticed that most of the newer films have a few different studios involved. Just a random thought, nothing deep.

Do you think “Drag Queen Story Hour” is acceptable? I don’t.

I believe any parent is in charge and if they want to expose their child to Drag Queens they have the right to do that. What I am concerned about is the possibility of having them in schools, libraries and other public places where a parent should be able to leave their minor child without worrying about them being exposed to shows or displays that are against their belief’s.

I have made political and charitable donations in the past. I still give to charities, but the political, for me, has stopped cold. I get letters ranging from, “You are one of our best supporters…” to “Are you voting for XXXX (the other party)?” “You are in danger of losing your status” and my favorite is when they give a “deadline” on when I should donate by. “We need your support by the end of the month, or we won’t meet our goal.” The goal that they set!

Thanks for reading to the end. I would like to hear what you think about my thoughts. Please comment and let me know.

The post RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM A FRUSTRATED BOOMER 8/9/23 appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

Some of the candidates have not held a job outside of public office.

This does not have to be a bad thing but, in my opinion, it calls for closer scrutiny. I feel that some of the politicians come into office without the world experience that, I believe, is required.

Have you ever heard a politician recommend payments that have made you cringe. I have.

I like politicians who have been successful in the private sector because they are more likely to have balanced checkbooks, dealt with irate customers, learned to listen to, and deal with, complaints. The more experience in the workforce the better chance they have faced an emergency that called for a quick, well thought out decision.

I want to know that they have been required to budget with limited funds. I would like to see that they have learned to pinch pennies.

Years ago I wrote a heartfelt letter to President Bush Senior. I had just learned that the county I lived in, and most political budgets worked, in my opinion, in a terrible way.

I was told by a member of the county board that, in the political arena, if you don’t spend all of the money that was budgeted to your division, they give you less in your next budget. In my letter I explained to the president that if he was sincere about ending government waste, he should eliminate that practice and replace it with a more fiscally responsible system. A budget system that would reward those who responsibly came in under budget with bonuses or other incentives to continue to keep a trim budget.

I’m sure the president had a good laugh- if he even saw the letter, but I see that nothing changed.

On that thought, my next topic is related.

Does the candidate in question realize that nothing is free?

I’ve heard politicians promoting “FREE COLLEGE TUITION!” Well, that’s wonderful! Or is it? How can something that cost several thousands of dollars yesterday be made free today? Are the tenured professors who were earning six figure salaries going to willingly accept less, or nothing at all? Maybe one would, I don’t believe you could find enough to make even one school free, but anything is possible.

I remember my college days. The professors were not the only people on campus who were being paid. There were administrators, secretaries, groundskeepers, maintenance workers, custodians, cafeteria workers and security personnel. I’m sure there are many more college workers that I have overlooked. The list I’ve provided very likely accounts for millions of dollars in salary per year, and I haven’t even touched on infrastructure, what about heat, air conditioning, water, basic items such as brooms, mops, parking lot repairs, roof repairs well, I think you get the picture. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “The trouble with socialism is that, eventually, you run out of other people’s money.

I’m sure the government could cover the cost but, I believe you realize, when the government gets generous, we, the people pay either in taxes or through a larger national debt.

A larger national debt is dangerous and reckless. As citizens we were, originally, wary of any debt and now the millions of dollars we protested have grown past billions to trillions and that debt is largely ignored. How often do you hear about the dangers involved in a large national debt?

If you ruled another country, or manufactured weapons or other items that The United States needs to remain free would you be anxious to deal with us? How trustworthy is an entity that owes trillions? The correct answer, in my opinion, is NOT VERY!

Is the candidate qualified to represent you effectively?

Unfortunately, several examples of unqualified candidates come to my mind. There’s a chance that my list does not match yours, but the point remains that it is not only our duty as citizens of a free republic to vote for qualified candidates, it is also in our best interest. If we elect a representative, at any level, who is corrupt or incompetent it could cost us through loss of tax dollars, inept government or, in a worst-case scenario, loss of freedom.

Three of my many examples of those not qualified to govern are: Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, Pennsylvania State Representative Tony DeLuca and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.

A CBS News article aired April 1st, 2010 (No, it was not an April Fool’s joke!) documented that, speaking of The Island of Guam, Representative Hank Johnson (D GA) seriously stated, “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.” He said this in House hearings on sending additional troops there. He was elected in 2007 and is still serving. In a defense of that remark, he later said that his statement was meant to be an analogy- listen to it while you still can and decide for yourself. I believe the good representative feared the island would tip.

A Tucker Carlson segment aired March 3, 2023 reported that, “Last fall, a Democrat called (Named) Tony DeLuca got re-elected to the Pennsylvania statehouse while dead. Not just dead inside like most politicians, but actually dead, not breathing. And not only did DeLuca win after having been dead for a full month, but he won in a landslide. Tony DeLuca got more than 85% of the vote.”

My statement on that is that it is very upsetting that the Democrats left a dead man on the ballot, and it is more upsetting that the Pennsylvania voters were so uninformed that they overwhelmingly elected a corpse.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party statement was “While we’re incredibly saddened by the loss of Representative Tony DeLuca We are proud to see the voters continue to show their confidence in him and his commitment to the Democratic values by re-electing him posthumously.” I believe it is a black mark on our electoral system, and on the voters in Pennsylvania, that they would elect ANY REPRESENTATIVE POSTHUMOUSLY! We are tasked with electing the best candidate. Dead men not only tell no tales, but they also have 0 capability of serving effectively!

In his debate, prior to being elected, John Fetterman was given 60 seconds to explain what qualified him to be a U.S. Senator. Fetterman’s response was:

“Hi. Good night, everybody…If you work full time, you should be able to live in dignity is well, true. And I believe they haven’t had any business being, being, we can’t have businesses being subsidized by not paying individuals that just simply can’t pay to pay their own way.

If you know what he meant, please explain it to me.

In response to a question about his stance on fracking he responded with the following statement:

“Oh, I do support fracking, and… I don’t, I don’t, I support fracking and I stand and I do support fracking.”

It is obvious that Fetterman was suffering impairment as a result of his stroke. I am all in favor of supporting people who are victims of mental and physical disorders, once they have recovered. I readily admit that I would not knowingly fly on a plane piloted by a person who was recovering from a major disorder. I would, however, fly on a plane piloted by a person who had recovered from the ailment. I would not vote for a person who can not articulate or process statements as a result of an ailment. I would vote for them once they had recovered if their political views were in line with mine. I submit that the voters of Pennsylvania did the country a disservice by electing a man who is not fit to serve.

Does the candidate consistently follow one path, or do their “morals” adjust to fit the current trend?

I am confused by the candidates who are currently pushing an agenda to allow, encourage, or even force the vaccination of young children. These candidates are often heard espousing the common mantra, “If only one child can be saved.” I have noticed that many of those who support mandated vaccines are also pro-abortion. One obvious candidate with those contradictory views is our current president, Joseph Biden. These candidates could save about a million children a year if they stopped pushing abortions, just saying.

These are my views, I don’t expect anyone to agree with everything I’ve written. I do believe we can agree that we owe it to our country and our neighbors to do our due diligence and know who we are voting for.

Thank you for indulging me. If you agree with me, please comment. If you disagree with me, please comment. If you’re bored and just feel like venting, please comment.

In closing I would just like to say, please comment!

The post IT IS OUR DUTY TO INVESTIGATE THOSE WHO ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE! appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

This is Paul Harvey’s most famous broadcast and, I believe, it is timelier now than when he first broadcast it in 1965.

If you’re not familiar with it, here it is:

“IF I WERE THE DEVIL…IF I WERE THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS, I’D WANT TO ENGULF THE WHOLE WORLD IN DARKNESS. AND I’D HAVE A THIRD OF ITS REAL ESTATE, AND FOUR-FIFTHS OF ITS POPULATION, BUT I WOULDN’T BE HAPPY UNTIL I HAD SEIZED THE RIPEST APPLE ON THE TREE— THEE. SO I’D SET ABOUT HOWEVER NECESSARY TO TAKE OVER THE UNITED STATES. I’D SUBVERT THE CHURCHES FIRST—I’D BEGIN WITH A CAMPAIGN OF WHISPERS. WITH THE WISDOM OF A SERPENT, I WOULD WHISPER TO YOU AS I WHISPERED TO EVE: ‘DO AS YOU PLEASE.’

“TO THE YOUNG, I WOULD WHISPER THAT ‘THE BIBLE IS A MYTH.’ I WOULD CONVINCE THEM THAT MAN CREATED GOD INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I WOULD CONFIDE THAT WHAT’S BAD IS GOOD, AND WHAT’S GOOD IS ‘SQUARE.’ AND THE OLD, I WOULD TEACH TO PRAY, AFTER ME, ‘OUR FATHER, WHICH ART IN WASHINGTON.”

“AND THEN I’D GET ORGANIZED. I’D EDUCATE AUTHORS IN HOW TO MAKE LURID LITERATURE EXCITING, SO THAT ANYTHING ELSE WOULD APPEAR DULL AND UNINTERESTING. I’D THREATEN TV WITH DIRTIER MOVIES AND VICE VERSA. I’D PEDAL NARCOTICS TO WHOM I COULD. I’D SELL ALCOHOL TO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF DISTINCTION. I’D TRANQUILIZE THE REST WITH PILLS.

“IF I WERE THE DEVIL I’D SOON HAVE FAMILIES AT WAR WITH THEMSELVES, CHURCHES AT WAR WITH THEMSELVES, AND NATIONS AT WAR WITH THEMSELVES; UNTIL EACH IN ITS TURN WAS CONSUMED.

“AND WITH PROMISES OF HIGHER RATINGS I’D HAVE MESMERIZING MEDIA FANNING THE FLAMES. IF I WERE THE DEVIL I WOULD ENCOURAGE SCHOOLS TO REFINE YOUNG INTELLECTS, BUT NEGLECT TO DISCIPLINE EMOTIONS—JUST LET THOSE RUN WILD, UNTIL BEFORE YOU KNEW IT, YOU’D HAVE TO HAVE DRUG SNIFFING DOGS AND METAL DETECTORS AT EVERY SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR.

“WITHIN A DECADE I’D HAVE PRISONS OVERFLOWING, I’D HAVE JUDGES PROMOTING PORNOGRAPHY—SOON I COULD EVICT GOD FROM THE COURTHOUSE, THEN FROM THE SCHOOLHOUSE, AND THEN FROM THE HOUSES OF CONGRESS. AND IN HIS OWN CHURCHES I WOULD SUBSTITUTE PSYCHOLOGY FOR RELIGION, AND DEITY SCIENCE. I WOULD LURE PRIESTS AND PASTORS INTO MISUSING BOYS AND GIRLS, AND CHURCH MONEY. IF I WERE THE DEVIL I’D MAKE THE SYMBOL OF EASTER AN EGG AND THE SYMBOL OF CHRISTMAS A BOTTLE.

“IF I WERE THE DEVIL, I’D TAKE FROM THOSE WHO HAVE, AND GIVE TO THOSE WHO WANT UNTIL I HAD KILLED THE INCENTIVE OF THE AMBITIOUS.

AND WHAT DO YOU BET I COULD GET WHOLE STATES TO PROMOTE GAMBLING AS THE WAY TO GET RICH? I WOULD CAUTION AGAINST EXTREMES AND HARD WORK IN PATRIOTISM, IN MORAL CONDUCT. I WOULD CONVINCE THE YOUNG THAT MARRIAGE IS OLD-FASHIONED, THAT SWINGING IS MORE FUN, THAT WHAT YOU SEE ON THE TV IS THE WAY TO BE. AND THUS, I COULD UNDRESS YOU IN PUBLIC, AND I COULD LURE YOU INTO BED WITH DISEASES FOR WHICH THERE IS NO CURE. IN OTHER WORDS, IF I WERE THE DEVIL I’D JUST KEEP RIGHT ON DOING WHAT HE’S DOING.

PAUL HARVEY, GOOD DAY”

I have probably heard this at least one hundred times. If you haven’t heard Paul Harvey’s presentation, do a search for “Paul Harvey, If I were the devil.” I offer a money back guarantee if you don’t enjoy it. When I heard it, even as a young boy, I felt he was right on target. As I get older, I am even more impressed with how his “prophesies” are coming to be.

1 According to gallup.com in a 1980 post, in 1965 less than 5% of U.S. citizens claimed “No religious affiliation” 22% identified as Catholic and 70% identified as non-Catholic Christians. That came to 92% of those polled identified as Christians while only 5% claimed no affiliation. A PEW RESEARCH CENTER post from December 14, 2021, reported that 63% of U.S. citizens self-identified as Christians while 30% identified as “non-affiliated.” It appears to me that when Paul Harvey intimated in 1965 that Christians in America were listening to “whispers” from the devil and falling away he was right on target. The number of citizens identifying as Christian has fallen 29% while the number of those claiming “No affiliation” has risen 25%.

2 Harvey’s next paragraph mentions that the devil might whisper, “The Bible is a myth,” and “…What’s bad is good and what’s good is ‘square.” I look at how the world has changed since 1965- Abortion went from illegal to, “A woman’s right” with 63,459,781 babies/fetuses being legally aborted since Roe V Wade (Guttmacher.org). A scandal involving Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse of those they were charged with caring for broke in 2002, but the allegations went back as far as 50 years, other sex scandals including Jeffrey Epstein who was thought to have arranged “sex vacations” for numerous public officials providing sex with underage victims, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell under suspicious circumstances, there are pages more- but this gives an outline of how far down the sewer our country has gone since 1965.

3 Another suggestion Paul Harvey had for the devil was “I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa.” There is so much here. Movies offer more sex than girls on the worst street corner in our major cities. It is hard to find a clean movie nowadays. I watch TV to go to sleep late at night and find it hard to find movies with no nudity, profane language or sexual situations. You may say that of course I see that, it’s because I’m looking at shows written for adults. I am. I ask why can’t a movie written for adults stay out of the gutter? Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to adult shows. An article written in The Federalist confirms my suspicions about Disney. The Federalist review of “Baymax” (A recent Disney release) includes these lines, “Disney is targeting kids by inserting its self-avowed, highly sexualized, ‘not-at-all-secret-gay-agenda’ into children’s shows.” Really? That’s not Disney’s only trek into the LGBTQ realm. Variety.com May 18, 2022, tells its’ readers that, “Restoring a same-sex kiss in ‘Lightyear’ comes after years of thwarted efforts to include LGBTQ identity into Pixar’s films, sources say. There are many more examples. I’d like you to mention the one’s that bother you in the comments.

4 Another line from the Paul Harvey piece is, “If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed.” Later he says, “I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.” When Hillary was running for president, the last time, women were encouraged to “punish” men who chose to vote for the man- Trump- over her. My, just out of college, daughter took it to heart and seldom speaks to me as a result. In a response to Covid 19 (The pandemic that never was) churches were closed, while airlines, bars and strip clubs remained open. As a result of some ministers choosing to close their churches, in compliance with government mandates, some congregants fell away, others chose to go to churches that defied the mandates. Strife ensued, just like Harvey predicted. War isn’t hard to predict, but Paul called that one too in his piece. Some of the religions that have gained strength on the world scene are using “religious” reasons to attack bordering nations. As far as the press “fanning the flames” have you ever seen our country so divided. I place much of the blame for that on a press that, seems to me, to be in bed with one faction of the government to the exclusion of truth. I cite the examples of “The Hunter Biden laptop,” (Many of the press who, at the time, called the laptop Russian collusion are now admitting that the whole scandal was real- a day late and a dollar short) “The 2020 election” (Say what you want, there are thousands of affidavits signed under the penalty of perjury/imprisonment written by citizens who reported election abnormalities- That again deserves at least a hearing, but the press was, and still is, calling it “disinformation).

5 “If I was the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions-just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.” Since that wise statement many schools have installed metal detectors and hired armed security. Many schools have suffered from students shooting other students. At the time Paul Harvey made this presentation school prayer and The Pledge of Allegiance were a common practice. After that ended, school shootings, other violence in schools and heavy drug use began and grew more common.

6 “Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography— soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And his own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deity science, I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.” WOW! Prisons are overflowing- so much so that many misguided State’s Attorneys are failing to prosecute serious crimes! Judges are promoting pornography; some judges were implicated in the Epstein scandal. God has been evicted from the courthouse, the schoolhouse and from Congress. I addressed earlier that there are less people identifying as Christian and more claiming no affiliation. As far as replacing The Easter Cross and Resurrection with the egg, that’s hard to argue against. I don’t believe that Christmas has been replaced with a bottle- I do think there are more people who identify Santa Claus with Christmas- or should I say “The Holidays or X-Mas” than those who think of Christmas as the celebration of the day that Christ was born.

7 “If I were the devil I’d take from those who have and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.” Anyone who has listened to the new tax proposals has heard some pompous filthy rich politician saying his new tax proposal was ok because it targets the “one percent” or “the rich” or “those who make over 400 thousand dollars a year”…or some other political hogwash designed to whitewash the FACT that our political climate has deteriorated to a point where we do not even talk about a “balanced budget” anymore. We have a national debt over 30 trillion dollars! Politicians go into office with modest wealth claiming to have high ideals and morals and come out millionaires (or better). In my state (IL) we sent a retired gym teacher wrestling coach to represent us. When he came out a few years later, the scandal surfaced (Which is not unusual for Illinois politicians) and it was proven that he was paying 3.5 million dollars in hush money to keep a sex scandal quiet. Where did he get that kind of money? Anyone who can afford a 3.5 million dollar bribe is, obviously, making much more than that. He served in congress for 20 years. Politico reported that at the time of his indictment his net worth was between 4 and 17 million dollars. I am a police officer who retired after 35 years. If I could get the low estimate of his wealth, it would increase my total net worth by about 3.9 million.

Another point I would like to make is that I was always taught it is good to aspire to great things, wealth, business success. I now hear the rich being denigrated regularly. I don’t believe in “hero worship” of those who have succeeded, but I do believe that it is better to aspire to greatness than mediocrity. A friend recently posted on Facebook, “I’m so old I remember when unemployment was a temporary situation that brought shame, not a status to aspire to.”

I believe Paul Harvey had the right idea! He really had our nation’s situation scoped out, didn’t he?

God Bless you Paul Harvey. God help The United States!

Thank you for reading. Please share this with friends if you liked it. If you didn’t like it, or disagree, please post a comment.

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I have written blogs about some of these irritations and I will probably write about them in a more detailed way some other time. Today I just want to get them off my chest.

Here is my list, in no particular order.

I hate when other drivers speed up to stop a car from merging and then proceed slowly, stopping the merging car from entering the lane designated for faster traffic. Sometimes they compound this nasty deed by pacing the car in the slower (Right) lane effectively inconveniencing drivers in both lanes.

It bothers me when a shopper checks out in the “Express Lane” with more than the allowed number of items.

I am truly irritated by drivers who think the “LANE CLOSED IN 1/4 MILE” sign was put up to allow them to pass all of the cars that have exited that lane as instructed.

I have no patience with people who don’t tip properly. Half of my family is in the restaurant business and I have been hearing stories about patrons “running them ragged” and then leaving a small tip, or no tip at all. For me, it has always been a rule, if I can’t afford to tip, I go to a fast-food place.

I have always been amused by people who dress outlandishly, girls with revealing tops, people with provocative tattoos or hair dyed some neon color, and are “offended” if you look at them too long or take a quick second look. It seems to me their appearance is screaming “LOOK AT ME!” And their reactions are effectively saying, “Why did you look at me?”

I hate when drivers don’t pull to the right and stop for an emergency vehicle with overhead lights and siren activated. As retired police officer I can’t tell you how many times I have been forced to avoid an accident with some dangerous evasive maneuver such as a quick lane change or panic stop because a car I am approaching with lights and siren activated stops suddenly without pulling to the right, merges to the left instead of the right or does anything other than pulling to the right and allowing me to pass safely.

It astounds me that any drug advertised on TV is accompanied by warnings about possible unwanted consequences (per our government’s demand) but our government is pushing a vaccine and targeting 100% compliance while ignoring reported deaths, heart injuries, gynecological problems and other maladies believed to be linked to the vaccine. Do you remember any other vaccines that required boosters and second doses? When is the last time the government insisted on 100% compliance on anything?

On a related topic I hate that doctors, scientists and other knowledgeable people who speak out about their concerns with the vaccine are censored instead of proven wrong. When did this start and why are we, as citizens, tolerating it?

Thanks for reading this to the end. If you have any things you hate please comment- this is by no means an “all inclusive” list.

If you liked this please comment and share. If you did not like it, let me know why.

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I worked for several years in a large county jail. One Saturday my assignment was the periodic imprisonment division, which was across town from the main jail in a soon to be replaced courthouse. A delivery arrived consisting of several large mahogany desks. These desks, as I recall, were listed at $1,500.00 per item and there was a truckload of them. I told the driver he must be at the wrong address. I explained that this building would be empty in about 5 months. He said he would go to the other building if I insisted, but asked me to call a supervisor first.

I called my sergeant who said he had no idea what to do. He suggested I call the woman whose name appeared on the invoice, one of the top county officials. I thought of how this might effect my career. I came to the conclusion that It was a mistake to call such a powerful woman in the middle of one of her few days off during the largest relocation in the county’s history to suggest that she had made a mistake. I then carefully weighed the alternative, say nothing and let him deliver the shipment. Now I had pictures of getting a phone call on my day off and hearing the sheriff yell at me about allowing a truckload of desks to be delivered to a building I knew would be closed in a few months. It was a coin flip. I called her.

This powerful woman whose name often appeared in the local papers answered her phone, she did not seem to be too excited about hearing from Deputy who? I apologized for bothering her at home, on her day off. I then explained that these beautiful, big, solid, judicial desks had, more than likely, been shipped to the wrong building. The OLD COURTHOUSE.

She had a chuckle in her voice (Which was a great relief to me) as she explained, “Oh deputy, you have no idea of how government works do you? I stammered trying not to sound stupid, naive or disrespectful, “I guess I don’t.” She went on to give me a quick tutorial, “Young man, in government you budget for the year. If you spend less than you requested, you get less in the next fiscal year. The trick is to be within, but not below, budget. The best way to accomplish that is to be prepared to go big item shopping at the end of the year.” She added, “I suggest if you need office supplies or any equipment ask your supervisor for them now, it’s the best time.” I then asked if these desks would be moved to the new courthouse and she scoffed and replied that the new courthouse would be furnished with all new furniture. I thanked her, hung up the phone and cleared a large area for the driver to unload the nicest desks I have ever seen.

While the driver was unloading I penned a letter to the current president, Georg H W Bush. I did appear naive in this letter, I’m sure.

In summary I lamented, that I had just learned, “How government budgeting works..” I explained that I appreciated the fact that while he was a candidate he had said he would trim the budget and be fiscally responsible.” I continued, “If you meant what you said I ask that you change the process and reward supervisors for coming in under budget.” I suggested he adopt a policy, as many private sector companies do, of rewarding supervisors for coming in under budget while still accomplishing all of the set goals.

The president responded. As I recall, it was a beautiful form letter thanking me for my concern and telling me that our country needs citizens like me. I found the stamped signature was equally impressive. I didn’t expect The President of the United States of America to call me at home, but I was hoping my letter would have had some effect.

If any current, or future presidents are reading this please keep my words in mind- If you punish people for not spending money, they will spend money. I believe if they are forced to spend money at the end of the fiscal year they may waste it. Who knows, they may do something really stupid like buying a truckload of $1,500.00 desks to use for 5 months.

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I was frustrated and happened to be listening to the news segment on the radio. The announcer’s voice was like a lifeline, “Congress is at a stalemate and we may have yet another government shutdown….”

My mind started racing. I didn’t think I could use “household shutdown” to avoid paying my credit card bills, but I should certainly be able to use it to put off paying government bills such as income tax, property tax, and, maybe even, sales tax.! How could the government object? They couldn’t put me in jail for mirroring their behavior, could they?

I was almost giddy as I headed to the grocery store to shop for my large family. I raced through the aisles and finally arrived in front of the cheery, high school aged, cashier.

“Good afternoon sir. How are you today” She gushed. My reply was that I was fine. The register sang to me, “beep, bop, beep, beep, bop, bop” It’s song ended and the cheery cashier chirped. That will be $318.00, will you be paying cash; or would you like to charge your purchase today?

With I very straight and stern face I replied, “I will gladly pay the three hundred dollars in cash. I am not able to pay the eighteen dollar tax due to a household shutdown caused by a fiscal disagreement between the principle parties in charge of all budgetary concerns relating to payments demanded by a taxing body which, itself, is currently in a shutdown mode.”

I then explained to her that, “We will pay our taxes after the parties of the first part otherwise recognized as ‘The household’ are able to agree to a budget acceptable to a majority of the recognized participants in the current deficit crisis negotiation.”

The cashier was still smiling, but obviously confused as I slapped three one hundred dollar bills in her hand and headed for the exit, smiling ear to ear.

As I approached my car I saw a lot of activity near the register I had just left. I wondered what had happened.

Well, right now my house is surrounded by police and secret service agents and the voice on the megaphone is not clear, are they ever, but it sounded like he said something about tear gas.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog.

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