So, there you have it. A simple answer to an age-old problem. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for The Temptations but didn’t become a big hit until Starr’s version in 1970. In that song Starr sings of how “War can’t give life, it can only take it away…”

It seems our country has been at war since I was born. The Korean War had just ended in 1953. The US started supplying aid to the French to assist them in Vietnam in 1950 and the first US troops were killed in Vietnam in Saigon in 1959. The major US involvement did not start until President Johnson took office after Kennedy was assassinated. Vietnam started winding down under Nixon from 1969-1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed but, while the US troops were departing the North Vietnamese were still plotting to overtake South Vietnam.

After Vietnam the US was involved in The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), The War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), The Iraq War (2003-2011) with other conflicts in Grenada (1983), Panama (1989) and interventions in Somalia, Libya, and ongoing counter-terrorism operations in various locations (Per Google AI).

A strong argument can be made that many, or at least some, of the wars the US has become involved in were not necessary. I can’t say that I am convinced that every military action taken by the United States was necessary.

I felt the pain of war in many ways. As a child, I was told that my mother’s cousin served in the Navy and was lost at sea. His ship was never located. I knew my dad served in India and various aunts and uncles served in WWII. Naively, I did not expect war to interfere with my life for, surely, we had learned our lesson as a country.

I was told that two of my three older brothers planned to enlist to serve in Vietnam when I was in 8th grade. They chose the week of my birthday to sign their papers. One signed the day after my happy occasion and the other went in the next day. My parents drove them both in on their fateful days and, as I recall, there was no birthday party for me that year- the whole family had something much more important to think about.

After they shipped out, I spent a lot of time climbing as close to the top of a tree in our front yard as I could and just watching the house as I thought of my brothers and prayed for them. Pete was in Vietnam and Pat was stationed in Thailand. Pete seldom speaks of his time in Nam. He was assigned as an IT repairman and, in that assignment, drove alone in a Jeep from one town I heard about on the daily national news to another.

I was writing a book, and I begged him to give me some story about his time in Nam. He then, hesitantly told me that he experienced enemy mortar attacks and, on one occasion, lost the only other member of his unit. They were assigned as AM & PM workers. On one gruesome day his PM partner was late returning the Jeep they shared, which was not an unusual occurrence. Pete took another vehicle from the motor pool and started on his assignment. A short distance away from the base he observed what was left of their Jeep lying on its side after being hit by an enemy mortar round with his partner lying close by. After determining his partner was beyond help, he called his supervisor and was ordered to complete his assignment.

The draft ended after my 17th birthday. I told my brothers I would still enlist, and they explained to me that there would be thousands of troops returning to muster out and, basically, more hands on deck than were required. Pat warned me, “You’ll be cleaning sidewalks with a toothbrush” just to keep you busy.

I am not in favor of war.

As much as I hate war, I believe, that it is foolish to be unprepared for that eventuality.

If we look at the history of the world as we know it there has always been violence; from the very first siblings on! If you think about it, Cane and Able could be considered the first World War- because half the known residents of the world, at that point, were involved in combat.

I feared for my brothers’ lives for the 4 and 5 years they were gone. I don’t want anyone going through that. I don’t want anyone to lose a child, sibling, relative or friend of any kind to war!

I understand that there is evil in the world. I understand that we can’t be Switzerland. I fear for our safety and have for years. Iranian leaders call the US and Isreal “The Great Satans” I don’t want to see them with a nuclear arsenal, do you?

Trump bombed Iran’s nuclear facility recently to prevent them from building a nuclear arsenal and I’m glad he did. There are mixed reactions about that decision largely along party lines- Who’d a thought?

Will that action bring us closer to yet another war? Were we already at war with Iran? Listening to their rhetoric, it seems we were! Is it possible to stay out of war?

I think since Iran first started calling the United States the Great Satan they have been at war with us. For that reason, I don’t think its possible for any action we take to bring us closer to a war we are already in!

I believe staying out of war is an impossible goal.

I will readily admit that the US has gotten in more conflicts than it needed to. Every fight is not our fight, and I voted for Trump because that was his stand. With that being said, I’m glad he helped Isreal out with this.

I quoted Edwyn Starr’s lyrics on war above and, I feel I must disagree with those lyrics. War can’t give life, but it certainly can preserve it. What if Iran were to declare war on us and we refused to participate?

I’m pretty sure that, believing we are the great Satan and all, they would have their war anyway. Have you seen how they treat people they don’t like? Did you miss the coverage of the unprovoked attack on Israel in which Hamas took hostages, raped & murdered citizens? It was reported that they even raped corpses and tortured and killed old people and children! I ask again, how do you think we’d fare if they came after us and we refused to participate? Have you seen any of their public beheadings?

China and Russia both got aggressive during Biden’s administration by threatening to attack lands they had their eyes on Tawain and The Ukraine. China held off, but Russia did not. I believe that both of those countries are prepared for war and, unfortunately, we are not!

America was once the greatest military power on Earth. I do not believe that is currently true. Per recent reports our nuclear weapons have not been upgraded since the 1940’s. Our navy is in a similar situation. In the last four years our armed forces have put more emphasis on becoming culturally diverse than preparing for the possibility of war. To make it worse. When it was necessary to “gear up quickly” during WWII we were an industrial giant and had no problem taking care of that business.

Currently we are not that prepared. Most of our steel mills are closed. The bulk of our manufacturing is now done overseas, and our workforce is not what it once was- I hope I’m wrong, I’ll bet I’m right!

I’m hoping President Trump can Make America Great Again real soon because I’m not sure we have as much time as we need.

Thank you for reading, please comment

The post WAR! appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

When you were growing up, did you ever get in trouble for not locking a door? I’ll bet the answer is yes.

As children we’re not aware of many dangers that surround us. Our parents try to instill awareness and safety procedures in us, that’s their job. They tell us about looking both ways before crossing streets, not taking candy from strangers, they warn us about the dangers of putting items in electrical outlets and petting dogs we are not familiar with. We are taught to swim or given lessons. We are told to be careful when running or riding our bikes. It’s all in the name of safety!

We’ve all learned some, or all of these lessons. As kids we perceive many of the warnings as tiresome and intrusive (or some smaller word that means the same thing).

As we age we take on responsibilities of our own, some of us marry, have children, get supervisory jobs, own our own businesses or homes. At these times many of the lessons we learned as kids take on a new and stronger meaning. We really start to appreciate where our parents were coming from when we have kids of our own and feel the pain of every skinned knee or broken bone they suffer.

These lessons about safety and security are important and kids who weren’t taught them often suffer by learning them in a more difficult way. As a cop, unfortunately, I was assigned a case of a kid who rode his bike into an on-coming car. The driver said the kid raced right in front of her. The neighbors said he was always doing that. The coroner said he died of blunt force trauma and multiple broken bones and internal injuries. In 35 years as a cop, that was one of my worst assignments.

I understand, and I am glad, that tragedy is not the end result every time we forget about the rules that make us safe and secure. I am also someone who acknowledges that I am “tempting fate” if I willfully ignore safety procedures. I have driven thousands of miles in my 35 years as a cop. I can count on one hand the number of times I have not worn a seatbelt and I can attest that I had my ballistic vest on every time I put my uniform on.

You never know when your seatbelt will save your life, and a cop never knows when the issued ballistic vest will prove what a good investment it was.

I was driving to work on a bitter cold February day. The windchill was well below zero and the actual temperature was near -10. I had my uniform on, so I was wearing my vest. I was hit head-on by a much larger car. The impact actually broke the frame of my little economy car in half. That released my seatbelt from its mount, and my chest then forced my steering wheel up to the ceiling of the car. With the seatbelt mount broken I landed in the passenger seat. I broke my upper and lower left leg, shattered my kneecap into 8 pieces, fractured my skull and lost a few teeth. I am now listed as confirmed save #670 of the “SECOND CHANCE BALLISTIC VEST” Company- and my family and I are very glad that I take safety and security seriously! I am very thankful that I had my seatbelt (For as long as it lasted) and my Second Chance Ballistic Vest on!

As a person who has been saved by prioritizing safety, I can’t believe that our government is not doing the same, I am even more alarmed that the compliant press is doing nothing, the opposition party is doing nothing effective, and we citizens are doing nothing. It has been confirmed that over 10 million illegal aliens (I call them illegal aliens because they are aliens- foreign citizens- who have entered our country by disregarding and violating the lawful entry procedures- illegally) have entered our country since the current president took office. Ten million is a low estimate of how many have actually entered the country because it does not even try to account for those who did not encounter border guards or those who have entered by some other ruse.

The same party that orchestrated this invasion is now, in many states, making it possible for these invaders to vote, have government funded housing, receive free phones, food vouchers, and more! Politicians and concerned citizens who demand that only people who can prove that they are U.S. citizens registered to vote be allowed to cast their ballots are being called racists!

The definition of “Racism” is: 1. “A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usu. involving the idea that one’s own race is superior. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based on such a doctrine. 3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races….racist n., adj. (RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER’S COLLEGE DICTIONARY copyright 1998).

I include this definition because I have been hearing politicians who, in my opinion, are selling out our nation’s security in hope of political gain using the argument that asking a person to prove they have authority to vote, is racist. As you can see from the definition above, a racist action must single out a race, or races, for special treatment based on a belief that one race is superior to another.

Voter ID laws are merely assuring that those given the ability to choose our representatives are legally entitled to do so.

I have believed from the first time I heard that ludicrous argument that it is without merit, basis, or foundation. My initial thought was. “I am carded (asked to show an ID) to buy alcohol, when I am stopped by a police officer, to buy cigarettes (For my girlfriend at the time- I know, it’s a nasty habit), to cash a check or make any bank transaction, to take out a library book, to watch an R-rated movie, to fly on a trip, to go to college functions, and many more things.

It is a, generally, unmentioned fact that most of the states that were proposing voter ID laws offered free IDs to individuals who needed official identification.

Our founding fathers allowed the federal government limited enumerated powers in the constitution. They are: The power to coin money, to regulate commerce, to declare war, to raise and maintain armed forces, and to establish a post office. In addition, there are “implied powers” introduced in Article 1 Section 8. Congress is given the right to “…make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and other powers vested in the government of the United States.” The point is, by my interpretation, our government has grown well beyond what was intended, or considered beneficial for “we the people!”

While growing so large, large enough to accumulate a 35 trillion-dollar debt, our government is neglecting its’ basic, foundational, responsibilities. The government that I used to, irresponsibly, trust. Has outgrown its’ boundaries by leaps and bounds and is ignoring the few responsibilities it has been assigned.

How can a government that is concerned about the safety of its citizens allow 10 million unknown aliens to enter in a three-year period? Is it acceptable to allow 10 million people to enter our country without being vetted or monitored? – I say NO!

Why does our government then, in way too many instances, supply these invaders with food, phones, housing and spending money? Is this a bad joke?

These people who have entered our country illegally are being treated better than our needy veterans!

According to Ballotpedia.org Pew Research Center reported that the US had 25 million non-citizen residents in 2020. Fourteen million of those 25 were documented permanent residents, visitors, or students. Since that report it has been confirmed that over 10 million additional illegal aliens have entered, that comes to over 21 million illegal aliens currently in the US. The same article documented that as of June 2024, The District of Columbia and municipalities in three states are allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. WOW!

What could go wrong? Let me just think out loud for a minute….

Here’s a thought, if you were in a country illegally and foolish people in that country gave you a chance to vote in their elections would you vote for the candidate who ran on a platform of reforming the out of control spending, or would you vote for the guy who promised free cell phones and lodging with no questions asked or responsibility? Another way of saying that is, as an illegal alien with no “horse in the race” would you vote for a platform that will save the country in the long run, or for a candidate who promised giveaways with no strings attached?

How many of these illegals are murderers? Nobody knows, they haven’t been vetted. Most states don’t keep separate statistics for citizen/non-citizen crime. Texas does; and an article in “City Journal” (6/24/2019) reported that illegal aliens were charged with more than 298,000 crimes from June 1, 2011, to the end of 2018- an average of over 39,000/year. Those numbers included 624 murders, 1,911 robberies, and 3,955 sexual assaults (Which, under Texas law, include rapes).

In my opinion, we deserve much better than we are getting from our government.

We deserve a secure border! We deserve secure streets! Our country is worth fighting for! Security of our elections is worth fighting for! I was raised in Chicagoland. We have joked about dead relatives voting in Chicago elections for years- I can not stomach joking about that now because the reality of it is destroying our country!

The press and politicians have been, successfully, dividing us. We had politicians openly recommending that constituents harass opposite party politicians wherever they see them. Is that what freedom of speech is supposed to be used for? I don’t think so. Could it be that those politicians are trying to bully people into voting against their conscience to avoid being attacked on the street?

We have politicians implementing tax increases directed at “the rich!” I guess we are supposed to accept it because it’s not us! I don’t!

Other politicians refer to “rich old white guys” in a demeaning way. I’m not rich, but I am old and white. Does that make me bad? Did they miss the point that- indicating color of skin in a demeaning remark is racist?

I love America! I feel, warts and all, this is the best country in the world! I miss the days I could talk politics with friends and later toast to each other’s health. I wrote above that I felt certain politicians were trying to divide us by race, economic status, ethnicity and whatever else might work. It’s not a bad plan. If we’re busy fighting each other, we won’t notice what they’re up to!

I have an alternate plan. Let’s remember we are all brothers and sisters. Let’s remember that all stories must be vetted. We can not just accept one news source. We have a responsibility as voting citizens to hold those elected to represent us do so honestly, while working in our best interest. We have to end the “tradition” of common people being elected to office and retiring as multi-millionaires, sometimes after only a short time!

Thank you for reading to the end. Please comment on what you liked, didn’t like, agreed with, disagreed with etc.

Phil

 

The post SECURITY HAS TO BE A TEAM EFFORT appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

In the early days of our country the polls were open for only one day. People traveled on foot, on horseback, and in open wagons to their designated polling places, regardless of weather conditions. For some, the trip would take more than one day. Now, a large portion of our populace has the ability to get to a polling place in an enclosed “climate controlled” vehicle. Whether they choose an Uber, a ride with a friend, their own vehicle, a taxi, a bus or other public transportation- very few U.S. citizens are in a position that they can not get to their polling place on the designated day. But, for some reason, we are making voting a marathon process.

Polls open weeks before the election for “early voting!” Mail in ballots are available and, in many cases, sent out even when they haven’t been requested. Some politicians have complained because their electioneers are no longer allowed to deliver free food and drinks with their candidate’s name on the bottle to “potential voters” in line to cast their ballot.  (Sometimes the voters are forced to wait an hour or two without water, unless they bring their own bottle).

People who assert that the longer it takes to count votes, the easier it is to commit election fraud, are marked as “conspiracy theorists” (A label that diminishes their credibility and standing in the community) even though what they say is factual!

Requests to re-instate, or enforce, voter ID laws are called racist by many politicians and media personalities. They claim these steps (Once common) are discriminatory towards minorities. Some of them claim that minority citizens do not have the ability to acquire an ID. These pundits ignore the FACT that identification is required to drive, buy tobacco, buy alcohol, enter some forms of entertainment, fly on commercial airlines and many other common practices for all Americans. The kicker is that where there is a voter ID push, it includes free ID’s to those who don’t have one. I wonder if anybody actually believes that ID’s are discriminatory? 

The last 3 times I voted (In Illinois) I did not see anyone produce an ID prior to receiving their ballot. I don’t believe it is possible to vote anywhere else in the world without showing proof that you are a valid voter.

I hear, from both sides, that the 2024 election will likely be THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY!” I hear allegations from one side that the 2016 election was stolen, does anyone else remember Hillary and several others calling Trump an “Illegitimate” president? Then in 2020 we hear from the other side that the election was stolen. 

Now that we’re coming up to the “most important election in our country’s history,” and both sides have expressed little confidence in our electoral system I can’t wait to see the big improvements in election security that I am sure both sides are working on (Sarcasm intended).

I must not be tuning in to the news at the right times because, as much as I have heard both sides complain about “stolen elections” and “election fraud” I have not heard either side pushing a plan to secure, or improve, the process. I, for one, will be very disappointed if my election experience in 2014 is no different from previous years. I won’t be surprised, just disappointed.

I went to my doctor recently and, reluctantly, checked in on their on-line data base. I am a boomer, a child of the 60’s, I hate computers! My doctor has been pushing me to use their “website built for my convenience.” For years I have been saying NO. On the last visit the push was even harder so, I tried to join the march to the future- or, at least, to present day.

I got on the initial site with no problem, a stupendous accomplishment for me! But then I faced more than computer problems. Questions 1-10 were about my sexual orientation. I do not mind answering a few questions of that vein, even though I fervently believe that, unless that’s the problem I need to address, they are out of line to ask personal questions.

I don’t know why they need to know if I am happy with my biological sex to treat my sore throat, but I complied, grudgingly. I answered the first question, (Are you happy with your “assigned” biological sex?). Then the second, which was similar, but more specific (Have you ever, or are you now considering changing your assigned sex?). The third question (Do you ever dress as a member of the opposite sex/ how often?) made me question why I was still on the site.  

I started to wonder if I might be the only happily straight male who patronizes this practice. By the sixth question I started to reminisce about my police application tests which would ask the same question phrased several different ways to uncover deception. When I reached the tenth question, and the topic hadn’t changed, I gave up.

The next day, I entered the office, a half hour early for the appointment per their request. I told the cheerful receptionist that I had not filled out the online registration form. She said, “Oh that’s no problem I can take your information right here.” I told her that I wouldn’t be answering if the questions were the same redundant, intrusive, questions they had on-line. She smiled and told me she gets that same response from a lot of the patients. Not one to let a good question go unasked, I continued, “Why do they ask those questions then?” She replied that for people who have problems related to gender identity these questions are very important. I told her that I had written an article on that subject and learned, in my research, that under 5% of the population polled identifies as having “gender identity” issues (According to Wikipedia, currently, 6 to 7% of the population identify as LGBTQ in the latest polls). I then asked a follow up question, “Why don’t you ask about anger issues, homicidal and suicidal thoughts?” I added, as she was rolling her eyes, those are important to a larger percentage of the population than the gender questions. 

I don’t think the doctor’s office is planning to change their protocol based on my complaint, I am currently in search of a new clinic in the Southwest Chicago Suburbs.

In my opinion, our government has thrust many, unnecessary, problems upon us; open borders, treating illegal aliens as honored guests with food and lodging taken care of on the taxpayer’s dime, ignoring shoplifting of up to $1,000.00 (causing many small businesses and some large ones to permanently close their doors), ignoring vandalism to public property (burning down police stations and defacing statues during the George Floyd riots with few people charged and less required to pay for damages caused) allowing our national debt to skyrocket to over 35 trillion dollars by ignoring the need for controlled spending and a balanced budget and many other things (You are encouraged to add problems I missed in the comment section). It seems that our government is trying to destroy our country. If that is true, I have a few suggestions. Here are some things that might help seal the deal and end the great experiment which is The United States of America:

Submitted for your approval: 

How about placing random stop signs on all of the superhighways- just to mess with us a little more. 

I also suggest that the government eliminate all police as some politicians have been suggesting. 

What if our “Leaders” in Washington and the state capitols continue to disregard any restraint in their spending? They could design a payoff plan for the debt. I suggest they implement the OPM plan. This plan would be detailed in a 5,000- page bill- after all, nobody reads those. 

In summary OPM (Other People’s Money/A new name for taxes) could be projected to pay off our debt in 25 years- That would be completely impossible but hey! We’ve bought all the other cow manure they’ve sold us- it could work. And while “We The People” are fighting on the internet about which party is really to blame, they have another couple of terms of unrestricted spending. 

At some point our country would implode, but isn’t that in the cards anyway?

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my view of life in these United States. Please comment on what you like or disagreed with. I look forward to your input.

    

The post SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

Peter, Paul and Mary were one of the groups I really enjoyed when I was growing up. I still do listen to their stuff as a matter of fact!

When I think of the government scam, they call social security, I think of the Peter, Paul and Mary song written by Pete Seeger in 1955, WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? That song was used to speak out against The Viet Nam War in the 60’s, perhaps, a similar song could be penned to speak out against big government in the 21st Century?

Maybe someone, with a voice better than mine, could sing a song that questions how a program that has mandated that a percentage of money be taken out of almost every payroll check written in the United States, with the employer also obligated to contribute on behalf of the employee, since 1937 (Source: Fifty Years of Social Security by Martha A. McSteen- Acting Commissioner of Social Security) and put in a government fund dedicated to retirement and disability protection could go wrong? Keep in mind that this is something private pension organizations have done very successfully for a very long time.

Everyone pays in. The money should be earning interest for years and then is returned in small monthly payments upon retirement or disability.

Brilliant! What could go wrong?

I am not an accountant but, if I could get that much money; and keep it to invest over that amount of time, over 50 years in my case, I don’t see any way I would not make that pile of money grow!

Margarette Burnette wrote, in her article (“Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts of November 2023) that 4.5 percent is the best current interest rate for a High Yield Savings Account. Keep in mind that larger investments, generally, yield larger percentage returns. Now, imagine what kind of a return would be amassed if the total social security payments the government received between 1937 and present day was deposited as it was collected. The original rate withheld from payroll checks was1% in 1937 and rose over the years until 1990 when it topped out at 6.2%. As they say on the game shows, NO! We are not going to stop there! We are going to add to that mandated matching contributions from the employers. Now, the enormous sum of money you pictured in your head is doubled!

The average worker in the United States earns &1.7 million dollars in their lifetime after working 25 to 30 years (Per Reference). Imagine how much money the Social Security Administration takes in during every pay cycle. I ask myself, “How could they be going bankrupt?” Do you have the same question?

It seems that one thing that went wrong is that it is administered by the government. The same people that bring us The US Postal Service and Amtrack. Neither one makes a profit but, oddly enough, transportation, freight and expediting businesses in the US are thriving in the private sector (Amtrack has never made a profit per Investopedia.com, The U.S. Post Office losses doubled to 8.8 billion dollars for the year- Per MarketWatch in a post from 11/14/2019).

I believe that the government budget is based on the open spicket theory of financial management. That theory is one I invented, which declares simply that if the cost is born by others, there is no need to limit it. In the event that the money required is not available, open the spicket (Tax payer dollars and loans) and harvest the additional revenue required. If the budget is challenged close the spicket completely and publish “worst case scenarios” to encourage the masses to demand the spicket be re-opened. Repeat yearly, or as needed.

The National Government, in my opinion, should not be involved in retirement programs. The National Government, in my opinion, should be responsible for securing our borders, printing currency, and maintaining our infrastructure only. Our national debt is currently, as of November 21, 2023, $33.74 Trillion, If you start counting now, many of us will be dead before you come anywhere near that number. If the wealthiest1% in America were taxed at 100% of their assets- that would not pay off the current debt.

Marco Rubio was right when he said, “It’s easier to sell cotton candy, than it is to sell broccoli to somebody, but the broccoli is better for you, and it is the same thing with a limited government.”

John Stossel said, “I’m an American. I’m for prosperity. I’ve discovered, from 40 years of reporting, that what creates prosperity is limited government.”

It seems to me that every year we have a budget battle. One party argues that we need more money to properly serve the citizens. The other party argues that we are too far in debt and must rein in spending or there will be dire consequences. Both parties rattle their sabers and argue that the other party must give in “For the good of the people, before the budget deadline!” We are bombarded with public service announcements (PSA’s) throughout the “crisis” telling us that if the budget is not passed payments to our military, social security recipients and many social services with be stopped causing catastrophies galore!!

I’m not sure how old I was the first time I heard that warning. I do remember that it caused me great concern. How will we function? Will there be no military guarding us? Will foreign countries see our weakness and attack? How long can those who need government checks hang on without them?

Have you all heard the story about the boy who cried wolf?

For anyone who hasn’t it’s a fairy tale with a message. A little shepherd boy is lonely and bored. He falsely cries out, “Wolf, Wolf!” Everyone from near and far runs to his aid. He is smothered with love and attention but, no wolf is found, and no signs of a wolf’s presence can be located. The townspeople are suspicious. The boy does it again, less people respond, and suspicion grows. Finally, one day, a wolf does come. The boy cries for help, and nobody comes.

Our politicians cry wolf every time the budget issue comes up. We, their townspeople, continue to respond- usually aligned behind our respective parties. That needs to stop. We need to join the smart townspeople and require a balanced budget. I think the line, “Don’t re-elect anyone!” appeared in the 1972 movie, “THE CANDIDATE” starring Robert Redford, that doesn’t really matter. My suggestion is, however, that we don’t re-elect anyone until this garbage stops.

Thanks for reading to the end. Please comment on whatever you liked or didn’t like and follow me @ aboomersthoughts.com if you liked this.

Phil

The post WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE? appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

Is lifting 1 pound one hundred times the same as lifting 100 pounds one time? – Asking for a friend.

Was the lady I observed recently as foolish as I thought she was? I was N/B, stopped by a freight train on an East/West set of railroad tracks. She came E/B on a street parallel to the tracks and stopped at a stop sign (She had to turn left- towards the tracks, or right- away from the tracks). Her vehicle had no turn signal activated. She looked to her left and saw the gates down and the train also traveling E/B. The driver waited for the train to pass. About five minutes after she stopped the train cleared the tracks. I went Northbound and saw that she was turning right, away from the tracks- making a turn she could have made legally and safely five minutes earlier!

If you were playing a card game called “POLITICS” would the most powerful card, be the race card?

Do you think our 30+ trillion-dollar national debt is as dangerous as I think it is? I am scared to death that, sooner than later, our government will not have the funds to function. If you ran a business and a potential client who was 30 trillion dollars in debt asked you to bid on a project, would you prepare one? I, probably, would not. If I did, I would stamp- cash in advance- on every page of my proposal!

I believe we need GOD! We always have and we always will!

Is Flip Wilson’s famous line, “The devil made me do it!” ever true?

I’m thinking of the times you should get up early for work, but hit the snooze a time or two more than you should and come in late- did the devil make you do it? Maybe you stop studying for “That really important exam” when you know you should put in a few more hours- could it have been the devil that made you do it? How about when that “clueless” driver cuts you off and you release the steering wheel to give a “double bird?” Could the devil have had any input in that reaction? 

I believe the devil loves for our lives to be in disorder and, maybe, he is trying to achieve that by convincing us to stop doing what we should, the actions that will lead to happiness and success.

There are accomplishments I’ve had in my life that I am very proud of. There are others I am ashamed to think about; and then there are the many more things that are so trivial I don’t ever think of them at all! Does that put me right in there with EVERYONE ELSE?

When did it become acceptable for stores to ask if they can keep your change to give to their charity? Do they literally want to get our last dimes!

Speaking of “spare change,” which is what people begging for money on the street used to ask for; as a police officer, I took a complaint from a man who had given a person begging for money a dollar. The person crumpled it up and threw it back at him while yelling, “What do you expect me to do with this!” I guess the cost of even their services (Whatever they think they are) has gone up!

I have always tried to present an image of myself as a person who is knowledgeable and capable of making important decisions. Recently, I have been given many reasons to believe that I convinced, at least some portion of the population, that that is true!

I have been receiving numerous requests from political candidates requesting I take surveys to help them determine their platform. I’m always a little bit surprised that the questions contained within are not very difficult- instead of asking me how I would solve the budget problem or what my stand on abortion is, they are asking generic questions without substance. Then I come to the end of the useless survey and see a request for a donation!

As my dear old dad used to say, “I was born in the morning, but it wasn’t yesterday morning!” My suspicion is that, perhaps, they do not really want to pick my brain for the betterment of mankind! I suspect that maybe the questionnaire is only a ruse to ask me for a donation! I can’t believe that honorable servants of the public would do such a thing, but my keen perception and police training are leading me to suspect that something deceptive is happening here!

How many pages do you think are reasonable for a federal bill (piece of legislation)? I know our government officials can be long winded, but I feel, after a bill reaches a certain length, it is unlikely that it will be read, studied and analyzed as it should be. Remember our representatives swear an oath to protect our interests! They should be aware of every point in every bill before they vote on it! Sometimes these bills are completed late in the night and voted on the following day.

Our House of Representatives and Senators passed a budget for fiscal year 2023 that was signed by President Biden. The bill was 4,000 pages long and budgeted for $1.7 Trillion in spending (From CNN politics 12/29/2022).

Do you think ANYONE read the entire bill? 

What would you do if you wanted to get away with something? Maybe it would be a good idea to hide it in a 4,000-page document and hope nobody found it. $1,700,000,000,000.00 would be very hard to keep track of.

My wise thought on government spending is this: If you are elected to watch out for my interests and then sign a 4.000-page document I am going to quiz you. If you don’t know what was in that bill that gives an OK to spending ONE AND SEVEN TENTH’S TRILLION DOLLARS OF TAXPAYER’S MONEY over a twelve-month period- YOU ARE FIRED! Believe me- if that was the criteria for not being re-elected- we would have a brand-new congress every election cycle!

The world-renowned economist, Milton Friedmann said, “Nobody spends somebody else’s money as wisely as they spend their own.” That is something we should all remember as we enter the voting booth. I believe, we should also remember how any incumbent has voted on money/spending- can we afford their generosity with our money?

There’s a commercial in my area for a money saving scheme related to buying gas. The commercial has one friend explaining to another how great the app is. She says, “I’ve already saved $200.00!” My first question is, “Over what period of time?” Two hundred dollars per week would be phenomenal! Over a month it would still be great, and even over a longer period it might be good. If it’s over a year, maybe it’s not worth the paperwork?

Have you ever laid in bed thinking, “Boy, I need to get up, I have so much to do today.” without realizing that you are wasting time? I compound that problem by falling back to sleep and then thinking about all that time I wasted. Oh well, I am working on it.

When you were a kid did you get “assigned” to do dishes with some, or all, of your siblings? That was my job for years and it turned out to be a pretty good bonding experience for our family. How about at holiday parties? We used to have almost everyone involved, clearing the tables, washing, drying, putting the “good China” back in storage boxes, sweeping the floors and more. Just writing I can, almost, feel the warmth. I have to admit that, occasionally, the mood was shattered by a broken plate. Even those memories are good, as long as it wasn’t me that dropped the plate!

It is beneficial to remember that there are two sides to every story.

One question: Should there be reasonable bond. Yes! Of Course!!- but how reasonable? A hundred dollars is a tip to some people and a great amount to others. But, if the bond is too low, or non-existent, it may be putting an offender right back out to re-offend. There are many reasons to discuss problems in depth, in the news, on social media and wherever and whenever to get the best solution. That’s why I’m scared when politicians like Hillary Clinton make comments about “formal deprogramming” of Trump supporters. She was almost president, and she thinks that comment is constructive? I’ll fight for her right to say it, but I question anyone who would vote for a politician who is in favor of “deprogramming” the opposition- what would that involve? Censoring? Incarceration? I can’t imagine! She did say the silent part out loud more than once. 

The comment above comes from me, as one of the deplorables, I am concerned about any politician thinking we should “improve” our government to one that only considers a single view! That sounds dictatorial to me, what about you?

Thanks for reading. Please comment on what you liked or didn’t like and let me know if you have your own wise ideas to share.

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When I was growing up, comedian Flip Wilson used to do a skit about a person claiming the devil made them do whatever they were accused of. As a young man I laughed at Flip, he had a good presentation and could always make me smile.

Now that I’m older, and trying to get closer to God, I think, probably too deeply, about what makes me do the unacceptable or negative things I do. I’m not talking about real big things like murder- for the record I have not killed anyone.

Coming from the assumption that most of you believe in the devil, and the devil is an entity whose sole purpose is to disrupt our lives and lead us away from God, I submit the following.

We are all tempted to do big things wrong, at least the thought pops up. Things like stealing, battering someone, cheating on our taxes. Hopefully we say no to the temptation and, eventually, it goes away. For me, the big things are easier to resist than smaller failings mostly because of the consequences.

If someone cuts me off in traffic my immediate reaction is, “I should teach this guy a lesson!” I am tempted to pull up next to him and flip him off! If he stops, all the better, I’ll beat him right there in the street! I find this easy to resist because I can rationalize why I shouldn’t in a plus-minus sort of way. Possible jail time verses being upset for a minute.

If I show my displeasure with his actions by a hand gesture the possible outcomes include:

He drives away and I get some small amount of satisfaction, he returns the gesture, and the situation escalates, there could be any number of possibilities up to a “full-fledged” road rage incident resulting in serious injury or worse.

Another example of a “temptation” might be a case where a server makes a serious mistake on a dinner bill asking me to pay much less than I should. The immediate thought is, “Ah, it’s my lucky day!” Now comes the question, do I “do the right thing” and point out the mistake? Or do I rationalize that I’ve probably been overcharged at times in restaurants, and this is my payback?

I must admit that, in situations like the road rage, my finger has shot up, almost reflexively at times. In my older years I have learned to stop short of a car chase that might lead to dire results; in my younger years, not so much.

With the dinner example I have the same feeling. I would never pay the wrong bill to save a lot of money. I would have a little fight going on inside of me if I discovered a small mistake, especially if I have already left the restaurant.

In my opinion we are receiving constant temptations. Several years ago, I got in some trouble at work for being late twice in a year. It was generally an hour ride, but when the weather was bad the travel time could go up a lot.

After I got warned for being late, I found myself in bed, with the alarm ringing, and my thought was, “I should hit the snooze button, again!” I was on midnight shift and sleep was a precious commodity, but I knew I needed to get out of bed. A voice in my head I recognized as my own, was saying just 5 more minutes, then you’ll feel better.

I forced myself to get up and started wondering, could that have been the devil?

I was struggling to raise 7 kids and a suspension day would have been very hard on my budget. That wouldn’t have been a major sin; it wouldn’t have been a sin at all, but it sure would have been a problem if I showed up late again!

Many similar instances have occurred to me. I’m up late watching an old movie for the third time. I could easily go to bed, but I don’t. I have something planned for the next morning. Yet that voice in my head, that sounds like my own, is saying, “You can stay up, you’ll still get 5 hours sleep.”

So, my thought is, maybe the devil doesn’t just lead us into sin. Maybe the devil leads us into anything that will disrupt our lives enough to make us a little more vulnerable!

I find that, often, when I am trying to pray, that voice that impersonates my own, says, “Hey, shouldn’t I check my phone to see if I have any messages?” What’s going on downstairs? Do they have any coffee made? – Anything but continue praying!

There’s an old saying, “Pray harder when it gets harder to pray.” I try to follow that, but still have my successes and my failures!

Thanks for reading, please comment. If the comment section is not there click on the title and it should appear.

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In December of 1776 Thomas Paine started his pamphlet “THE CRISIS” by writing, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

He could have, in my opinion, been writing about current times. We need people who are going to make the hard choices and stand up for the rights we have taken for granted for so long. There are, in my opinion, many ways that our freedom is being put in peril.

The government is talking about another round of mandated masking and vaccines. Should they have that power? Do you remember how many small businesses were permanently shuttered? It wasn’t widely reported at the time, but instances of suicide and depression soared. Are you aware of how many people who had been healthy prior to being vaccinated died shortly after?

Trump, a former president has been booked! Are these indictments legitimate? Are they political? Can they be both? The main charges stem from the fact that he voiced his opinion that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Isn’t that what Hillary Clinton has been doing since Trump declared victory? In a free society aren’t we allowed to speak our minds? I believe there is strong evidence the 2020 election was stolen. I can’t believe that a politician of questionable mental ability, that rarely came out of his basement got more votes than any other presidential candidate EVER!

Here is my take on the Trump indictments. This is coming from a person who worked as a sworn law enforcement officer (LEO) for over 35 years.

Let me give you an idea of how I, and cops I have worked with, view arrests.

All arrests do not have to be made, keeping discretion in mind. By that I mean it is possible to uphold the law without arresting every violator. Here’s an example I used to use when that question came up during training, with friends, or in college classes I taught.

In Illinois, the speeding law is, in summary, if it can be proven that a violator was driving one mile an hour or more over the speed limit, that person is guilty of speeding. Would you write a ticket/make the arrest for less than 15 miles an hour over the speed limit? I chose not to when I was on patrol.

Some facts in this explanation: A speeding ticket is considered an arrest. It is not a custodial arrest, meaning the arrestee may be released on bond at the scene and does not have to be fingerprinted and photographed. Cash bond is not required, a promise to comply- signature, is acceptable.

Most law enforcement officers take the power of arrest very seriously. I was told early on in my training that it is not recommended to put handcuffs on any person you are not sure will be arrested. There are exceptions, but not many.

In my years of service, I have given warnings to many subjects who could have been arrested; all the officers I know have done the same.

An example of giving a warning for a more serious crime is a battery, in a public place, with minor injuries, in which the victim refuses to sign a complaint. Maybe a fight between friends- or former friends. When this happened, I would write a detailed report including the victim’s request and the names of witness officers and, hopefully, civilian witnesses as well. To avoid possible problems, it was always a good idea to explain the situation and get the supervisor’s permission prior to releasing the offender.

A very real, very meaningful and necessary, restriction placed on LEO’s is the possibility of being charged with malicious prosecution. The Illinois Malicious Prosecution statute is defined as: Wrongfully instituting criminal proceedings against a person without reasonable grounds (Found on Hale & Monico’s America’s Justice Attorneys website). All of the states have similar codes.

As a police officer I always felt this was an excellent law. It kept me on my toes and encouraged me to never even consider arresting anyone without a solid case against them. I strongly believe that any individual with the power to arrest who does not prioritize, and believe strongly in, this code should be relieved of their powers to arrest immediately.

It is unlawful for a LEO to target a subject in an attempt to discover any crime they might have committed. This is harassment and an abuse of their police power. In other words, LEOs are not allowed to initiate an investigation hoping to find a crime; that is an abuse of their power. The protocol is for officers/investigators to be assigned to investigate a reported crime and, from that, identify suspects/offenders and deal with the situation appropriately.

With that in mind, let me bring up some of the facts that cause me to suspect that the indictments against Donald Trump are not legitimate, and are politically motivated.

According to WATN (We Are The News.com) the ongoing “Whistleblower” testimony has revealed that the FBI Closed multiple investigations into the Clinton Foundation in 2016, the year Hillary was running for president. At the same time there were several “leaks” from the bureau implicating Donald Trump in wrongdoing that never led to charges.

The same article reported that the “Whistleblowers” revealed that the FBI had ignored information that the Clinton campaign was meddling in the 2016 election when they found out campaign funds were used to pay for the Steele Dossier to be created – the basis for the debunked Russian hoax.

Rumble reported that “Obama and Biden were briefed by the CIA Director Brennan about an alleged smear campaign being paid for by Hillary Clinton. Neither took steps to warn Trump or the public about the revelation. That sounds like election interference to me.

From the moment Donald Trump won the 2016 election various Democrats have been calling for his impeachment. You might say, “That’s just political rhetoric.” I would not disagree if it weren’t for the fact that, in the early stages of Trump’s presidency, they offered no specific offense, and no proof. They only cried out for his impeachment- This is a violation of what I stated above- they were calling for a punishment with no known crime.

These politicians were, some of them, guaranteeing that Trump would be impeached with no impeachable crime being discovered for over two years and then, in my opinion, the crime they cited was questionable at best, nowhere near the requirements to start impeachment proceedings. Remember, impeachment #1 was over a phone call Trump made to The Ukranian President allegedly asking him to renew the investigations into the Bidens (Joe and Hunter).

This kind of attitude reminds me of Paul Newman’s character in “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE OF ROY BEAN.” In that Western Genre movie Newman plays a criminal, turned self-appointed judge, who at one point says to an “offender,” “We’re not going to just hang you. We are going to give you a fair trial, and then we’re going to hang you.” In the movie the humor came from how outlandish the statement was. In real life, it’s not so funny!

Can you imagine if a police officer was caught on tape saying, “I don’t like that guy. I am going to find a reason to arrest him!” and then later arrests him? That offender would, probably, be found not guilty because of the officer’s statements while the officer would, probably, be looking for a new career; and rightfully so.

Is that any different from what is happening to Donald Trump? From day one, literally, they have been saying they are going to impeach him, then they did.

I believe that public officials should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law when they abuse their power. I don’t think this has been happening in modern day America. It is my opinion that this lack of prosecution has led to many of the problems our country currently faces. The opposite of not prosecuting violators is selectively prosecuting; I see this as a bigger problem.

I am appalled that the party that has been hounding Trump the entire time he was in office, and after he left, has been ignoring grievous violations by their own members. These people who are so anxious to punish Trump are some of the same ones who have ignored alleged crimes committed by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Joe and Hunter Biden and others.

A Time article written by Melissa Chan on January 20, 2017 (Trump’s inauguration day) documents that two groups (FREE SPEECH FOR PEOPLE and ROOTS ACTION), working together, were attempting to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump. Their website said, “The nation is now witnessing a massive corruption of the presidency, far worse than Watergate. From the moment he assumed the office President Donald Trump has been in direct violation of the U. S. constitution. The president is not above the law.”

MY NOTE: While both of the groups named above claim to be independent “Speech For People’s” board of directors consists of all people with Democratic backgrounds, Ben Clements was a Federal Prosecutor appointed to that position by Dem. Governor of Mass. Deval Partick. Ben Binswanger was a political consultant for numerous Democratic candidates and served as Sen Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass) senior political advisor in Washington according to their website. “Roots Action” said, on their website, that “…This is crucial for defeating the corporate financed and media fueled right wing, which so deftly utilizes racism, fear, myths and outright lies.” That paragraph is followed by, “Roots Action pledges to resist the policies of the Republican right at every turn, while confronting the Democratic Party’s tendency to give ground to GOP obstruction in the name of bipartisanship.” These groups seem to be determined to do away with anything Republican, I wonder if that’s why they started to push for impeachment before Trump had written his first memo?

It was determined that Trump was not in violation of any laws and, according to the article, the post claiming that Trump was in violation of “laws worse than Watergate” was released as Trump was being sworn in. They were trying to impeach him as he was taking the oath. That’s comparable to accusing someone of speeding as they are starting their car. That, unfortunately, was going to become the “status quo” of the Trump presidency.

Let’s have a look at the accusations against Trump and some of the potential violations that are being ignored.

Maxine Waters (D Cal) said in March of 2017 (about 3 months after Trump took office), “And I will fight every day until he (Trump) is impeached.” She didn’t say why he needed to be impeached. I know that impeachment is called for when there is proof of “High crimes and misdemeanors.” In my opinion, a strong statement like that requires some proof. There was none offered, and the enabling press asked for none, but continued to play the clip regularly.

It was Joseph Goebels, The German general and Nazi propagandist in WWII, who said, “If you tell a big enough lie and keep on repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.,,” I wonder if that is why something as distasteful as impeachment was said so early and so often. Could it have been a plan from the beginning? Was it the cop scenario? “I don’t like this guy, I’m going to arrest/impeach him.”

A New York Times article (Written by: Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns 5/18/17) points out that while Adam Schiff was trying to calm the Democratic calls for impeachment in the Senate, Representative Al Green (D-TX) “Was in the well of the House thundering ‘The president must be impeached!”- The article pointed to “The barrage of reports about Mr. Trump’s chaotic and controversial administration…” (None of those being corroborated) as being a cause for hope for the Democrats looking at 2020, but there were no specific violations noted in the article that rose to the level of impeachment; yet that was the call!

The same article documents that “Representative Maxine Waters drew applause and whistles when she reminded the audience of her insistence that Mr. Trump be driven from office. But even more notably, Ms. Waters, a veteran lawmaker, has also been intensifying pressure on her colleagues to recognize the threat she said is posed by a ‘reckless president.'” Again, no description, or evidence, of how he is reckless was presented.

Continuing the same NY Times article, JB Pritzker, who was running for governor of Illinois at the time said, “We simply do not have the luxury of time to wait for months or years to determine whether the current president of the United States has committed high crimes and misdemeanors,” He added, “The House must begin the impeachment process before Donald Trump puts us at risk again.” There was no mention of how President Trump might put us at risk or had put us at risk, who needs proof, when you have the press in your pocket? Another point of note, Pritzker said that we don’t have time. How would you like that attitude to take over. “I believe he’s guilty and we don’t have time for a trial, so let’s move right on to the punishment phase.”

Rumble.com reported, in November of 2017 Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, of Trump, “He’s unfit, we need to get rid of him.” No specifics on how or why attributed to the senator were found in the article I got that quote from.

According to an article in The Daily Caller (Written by: Saagar Enjeti July 17, 2018) John Brennan (Former CIA Director) “Tweeted,” “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to, and exceeds, the threshold of ‘High Crimes & Misdemeanors” It was nothing short of treasonous.” He continued, Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. The “Tweet” concluded with, “Republican patriots where are you?”

Pretty strong words from Mr. Brennan. At least he gave a reason- a poor reason, but a reason.

I found the Helsinki comments on a BBC article (July 16, 2018). “US President Donald Trump has defended Russia over claims of interference in the 2016 presidential election.” In summary the article detailed that Trump and Putin had met, behind closed doors, for two hours. After the meeting Trump said that Russia had no reason to meddle in the vote, and Putin said that Russia had never interfered in US affairs.

I remember how the press and the Democrats had a field day with Helsinki. I also remember that I thought, at the time, Trump is just saying what he’s been saying all along.

If Trump agreed with the US Intelligence Agencies reports that Russia had manipulated the election to get him in, what would that say? If there was proof, it would be the only thing to do. But there was NO Proof! There was the, now discredited, Steele report paid for by the Clinton campaign and proven to be lies. By the way, which do you think is more egregious, starting a false investigation against the opposition candidate, running it for years, through the election and only backing off slowly when the truth is discovered, or making a phone call, as president of the United States, in which you ask a foreign diplomat to continue an ongoing investigation?

By the way, have you heard anything about indictments against Hillary? No? Neither have I, it’s strange how this indictment trend hasn’t gotten to any Democrats yet. Do you see anything suspicious? I know it is illegal to have a false document created to discredit a rival. I don’t believe it is illegal for a sitting president to encourage a foreign diplomat to continue an investigation when there are signs of corruption.-Just saying.

The wheel of impeachment photo shows many of the accusations that were finally made against The President. He was impeached, meaning sent to the senate for a trial. He was not found at fault. Does it strike you as odd that this is the only president in the history of our country who entered office with people calling for his impeachment. He, eventually, had people guaranteeing that he would be impeached and, much later, he was impeached. Take a look at some of the “charges” that are listed: Border Wall- is that impeachable, NO! As a matter of fact it is something that many, probably over 50%, of the voters want. It is something that previous presidents have called for but failed to provide. Russia/Putin is up there- that was proven to be unfounded and fraudulent but, as I said above, Hillary was shown to be behind it and, at this time, has not been charged. Steele/Golden Showers- proven to be fabricated- nobody has been charged, wouldn’t that be election interference times 10?

January of 2019 Rashida Tlaib (D Mich) said, “We will impeach the president.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) called for Trump’s impeachment in June of 2019 by putting, “Begin impeachment proceedings now” on her site @Senwarren

Pete Buttigieg (D Mayor of South Bend Indiana who was running for the Democratic nomination for president) called for the impeachment in June of 2019.

Nancy Pelozi (D-Cal) Said the House will proceed with official impeachment proceeding in September of 2019.

Fox News (Tucker Carlson) reported that the Democrats were spying on the Trump Campaign. (2/14/22), Additionally while the Clinton Campaign was claiming Russia had “hacked” the election. Her campaign was spying on Donald Trump. Evidence shows that the Clinton Campaign hired a tech firm to “mine internet data to establish ‘an inference’ and ‘narrative’ tying then candidate Trump to Russia.” In Durham’s words this included, “Non public and/or proprietary internet data.” Hacking. The hacking assignments included “internet traffic pertaining to a particular health care provider, Trump Tower, Donald Trump’s Central Park West apartment building, and The Executive Office of the President of the United States. They did it by hiring a firm that already had clearance.

My Note: Maybe they are desperate enough to issue false indictments.

On August 31, 2021 Reuters reported that there are transcripts of a July 23rd, 2021 call between Joe Biden and Ashraf Ghani (President of Afghanistan) in which President Biden says, “There is a need to project a different picture, whether it’s true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.” speaking of Afghanistan’s struggles with the Taliban.

I’m struggling to find the difference between President Trump’s call, which led to impeachment, and President Biden’s call, which didn’t.

Let’s walk through this. Trump’s call was reference a lawful investigation of corruption that Hunter and Joe Biden might have been involved in. Trump was talking to a foreign dignitary in his capacity as the sitting president. Biden was attempting to convince a foreign dignitary to lie about a military situation. Biden was acting as sitting president.

So, just to be perfectly clear, as another impeached president used to say, the president who is requesting a foreign dignitary resume a lawful investigation they had started and ended before he took office, is impeached as a result of that conversation. And the president who calls a foreign dignitary to request he lie to the world about a serious military situation is still president, with no problems.

Oh! There are so many more examples available. I’ll have to bring this up again sometime.

Thank you for reading to the end. I’m sorry it was longer than usual. I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment, I appreciate your input.

The post THE CRISIS – 2023 appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

I have questions about why these two groups would do that.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?

One of the big plusses for EV’s, according to proponents, is that they are greener than gasoline powered vehicles. I ask, “Has this hypothesis been proven?” Shouldn’t we all ask that?

How can these products be deemed ecologically friendly when they are made with lithium-ion batteries which are hard to find, prone to fires, very expensive and dangerous to dispose of. In addition to the actual battery, is the problem of charging them. When the electric cars are being touted as using little or no gas the proponents are not asked what procedures are in place to refuel them. How long does it take to completely charge an electric car? Is our supply of electricity strong enough to accept a large influx of electric cars into an overburdened system that is already asking, at times, for brownouts to prevent blackouts.

I could not tie down a specific time to completely charge an EV from empty. Microsoft Bing gives a window of 30 minutes to 10-12 hours for a battery charge on an EV, then, the article adds, it could take 2 to 3 days for a complete charge from empty. So there ya’ go, clear as mud.

I can accept any change from the normal if it is well thought out and a change for the better. I’m concerned about this change though. It does not appear, to me, to be beneficial or well thought out. Why don’t we have answers to basic questions?

If you recall universal health care initiated a complete overhaul of our health care in much the same way this revolution is occurring. They passed that overhaul with lies such as “You can keep your doctor” and the grandaddy of all lies, “It will be affordable.” Neither was true- but we still live with it. I do not want a reprise. Nobody in my circle of friends is raving about how great it turned out to be. The core of our conversation, Obama care related, is always how we are in worse shape.

Outlandish lies went unquestioned. Everyone will receive better health care and it will bring down the costs! Wow! What a great concept! Why didn’t we do this before?- Probably because it, on its face, is impossible! This concept, of course, was conceived and pushed by the same politicians who have supported enough unfunded spending that our national debt has raced up to over 31 trillion dollars!

ARE GAS CARS EVIL?

What logical questions come to mind reference elimination of gas fueled cars? Have the accusations against gas guzzlers been proven? Or just repeated enough that nobody questions them anymore?

It is unprecedented that the federal government goes against an entire industry. Have we seen proof of the allegations that fossil fuel is destroying the environment? I mean other than the elite rich and government officials flying into a resort town to say, “The end is near!” And then flying out on those same gas guzzling private jets. I wonder who the first to buy an electric private jet will be?

HOW WILL EV’s PERFORM IN COLD WEATHER?

According to a Consumer Report article (Feb 13, 2019) entitled, BUYING AN ELECTRIC CAR FOR A COLD CLIMATE? DOUBLE DOWN ON THE RANGE, any consumer expecting to drive an electric vehicle in a cold climate area should make sure to purchase one that is rated for twice the mileage they expect to need to prevent the possibility of being stranded on the colder days. The article documents that CR tested a fully charged Tesla Model 3 with an EPA estimated 310 mile range. At the end of a 64 mile test drive the remaining range was 189 miles, showing that the 64 mile drive had taken 121 miles of projected battery life instead of 64. The article documented similar results with another EV.

Consumer Reports was in line with every source I checked regarding problems with lithium batteries in cold weather. Li3, a lithium battery source, noted that, “In freezing charging conditions, lithium ions get lost navigating their way to “work” within the graphite anode. Instead of intercalating, these ions end up plating the surface of the anode. Charging in freezing temps can cause plating, which reduces battery capacity and increases resistance. If enough plating builds up, it can puncture the separator and create a dangerous short inside the cell.” They recommended an upgrade battery. I don’t understand that quote completely other than to know that charging a cold EV in freezing weather is dangerous.

COST OF BATTERIES- MONETERY AND POLITICAL?

When I owned my repair shop in the 1980’s, batteries were not that expensive. Electric car batteries are a different story. I discovered, in a search on Microsoft Bling, that batteries for EV’s range in price from to $5,000.00 to $15,000.00 with some going as high as $20,000.00

We’ve been dealing with cold weather problems, which appear to be significant. Warm weather states aren’t problem free, however. California recently (09/01/2022) requested EV owner’s refrain from charging their vehicles during peak periods to preserve energy availability.

As the government seems to do recently, all of the questions raised by those who are leery of jumping to electric vehicles were ignored and they, the Biden Administration, decreed that by FY23 (Yes, this year) 13,000 light & medium duty zero emission (ZEV’s), which is 4 times higher than 2022, shall be purchased. Biden’s Federal Sustainability plan requires federal agencies to transition to all EV’s (light duty ZEV’s) by 2027 with the remaining larger vehicles coming on board by 2035.

Many questions come to mind. With what we know about how the batteries react to cold weather, what do they plan to do about post office vehicles that are usually parked on a corner while the postal carrier walks that block- these would be terrible conditions for an electric vehicle- to get cold and reheat continually. How about a cold weather war that our military could be required to participate in. How could an all-electric fleet perform in such conditions?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). Sky News (Australia) reported that firefighters complained that lithium-ion car batteries are among the hardest to fight because they burn so hot. The paper reported that Queensland is experiencing an average of one such fire a week. This number will surely go up when Queensland & The United States increase the percentage of EV’s through legislation, not choice.

Fires in landfills and battery recycling facilities have also been attributed to inappropriate disposal of lithium-ion batteries.

Just another point that is not touched on when politicians ramble on about how the transition to electric vehicles will be smooth. How many EV recharging stations have you seen? I’ve seen a spot here and there. When we hit 100% of car sales being EV, as President Biden has mandated by 2035, we will need 1.2 million more public charging centers and 28 million more privately owned charging systems- 20 times more than we have now.

I asked before, but I’ll ask again, has anyone proven that electric cars are necessary or that they will be effective in making the air cleaner? Has anyone touched on the problem of disposing of the lithium-ion batteries? Has anyone addressed the fact that China is one of the top 3 sources of lithium while the U.S., at this time, has only one lithium mine?

I don’t like when the government takes any of our freedoms- I feel that is happening with the EV situation- our freedom to stay with gas powered vehicles. I don’t like when our government interferes with private industry, as they are with the petroleum and automotive industries. I don’t like when my government throws borrowed money that we do not have at problems that don’t exist. I am referring to my belief that there is no “climate crisis” and we don’t need to be giving the rich money to buy their cars- I refer to the $7,500.00 “tax incentive” given for the purchase of electric vehicles.

I believe if there was an interest in EV’s, a transition would have taken place in its’ own time. Perhaps years down the road. I read an article whose author gave his view that Electric Vehicles were “Concept cars” that the government forced into production years before they were ready for release.- That sounds right to me. Sorry, I can’t find the article; at the time I read it I din’t plan to write this.

Thanks for reading to the end. Please comment. If a comment section is not available please tap on the title and one should come up at the end of the blog. Sorry for the inconvenience. I am working on the problem.

Phil

The post ELECTRIC VEHICLES- WHY? appeared first on A Boomer's Thoughts.

When I was in junior high school my friend Tim and I had a paper route. We delivered our hometown newspaper on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and an add paper on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We were paid $30.00/month – so my “cut” was $15.00/month.

Because I was earning money, my parents insisted I pay for my own entertainment if I went out with friends.

At the time, I was surprised how much a movie, hot dog, popcorn and a drink cost. I learned quickly that paying out of my own pocket had a lot more impact. I looked it up, for the blog, and got a wide variety of totals. The movie was about $1.40 I couldn’t lock down a price for hot dogs, but I’m going with about a buck with popcorn around 15 cents and a movie drink about a dollar. Figuring in my head I came to about $3.55 for that one day out of 30 for a month.

My point here is that, at 13 or 14 years old, I was budgeting and, believe me, I thought a lot more when a friend said, “Hey, you want to go to the show.” Now my concern was, “Can I afford it?” Rather than, “Will mom and dad say it’s ok?” Don’t misunderstand me, my parents’ permission was still required, it just moved down a spot.

The budgeting process continued for the rest of my life; I believe the same is true for most Americans.

In high school I hung out with about 4 to 10 guys and girls, depending on the night. We would, inevitably, drive around, stop for pizza, fast food, movies/drive-ins or whatever. Some of us were employed and some were not. That situation changed throughout high school. We’d change jobs, get better jobs etc. The bottom line is that, if Danny had no money- the rest of us would pitch in for his share- BUDGETING 101!

I worked my way through college; where budgeting questions got more serious. Can I afford to go out tonight? – 0ften the answer was no; so, I stayed in or watched the big screen TV at the student union. Other budgeting questions were, can I still afford to take the train home next week if I go out this weekend? Can I afford to take that extra class with what I have left of my loan money?

If you paid for your own college, you recognize these problems and, I’m sure, more examples came to mind.

The budgeting questions never stopped in my life. I graduated from college and started my job hunt. Will that job get me where I want to be? Is that salary going to be enough to pay off my loan, move out of my parents’ house, and survive? Should I take the lower offer with the brighter future and stay home for awhile?

After graduation I bought a business- the garage I had worked my way through college at. Yes! That called for more budgeting.

I met my future bride while I owned that business. I fell in love and then lost the lease to the property my garage was on. The conglomerate I was leasing from decided to “re-purpose” the location. Can I afford to marry now?

I proposed to her by saying, “Hey, remember you told me you loved me, and you would still love me, even if I lost my business? She said she did. I then told her I had lost the lease but wanted to get married. Surprisingly, she accepted.

Now, we had to make budgeting decisions together.

As I said, for people who are spending their own money, money they work for, money that, if spent, may stop them from doing something else later, budgeting is a 24-7 job. My ex and I raised 7 children together, on a policeman’s salary. I worked a lot of overtime. Our conversations often started with, “Where can we find the money to pay…?” The bills varied, rent (In the beginning) car repairs, braces, doctor bills, household expenses, the mortgage, higher taxes, graduation parties, vacations, broken appliances, the list was endless.

We came up with different answers. She would get a job (Which was constant through the marriage), I would get a part-time job in addition to my police job, we would cut back where we could, we would cancel a planned vacation…

Now, let’s segue to how the government handles its’ money problems. Or, more accurately, its’ spending problems.

Let me start by saying the current national debt is $31,857,450,362,722. according to Peter G. Peterson Foundation. That’s over 31 trillion dollars. Would any of you call that responsible? I would not.

If you’re not shocked and repulsed by that information I will add that the debt has gone up to 31,857,458,324,631 in the time it took me to type this paragraph. Those of you who are mathematically impaired, as I am, the debt has increased by $7,961,909 in just a few seconds (I have to admit, I used a calculator to come up with that number). That is an increase of over seven million dollars in a matter of seconds!

A phrase that was popular in the 1960’s, when I was working my paper route, comes to mind, “DON’T RE-ELECT ANYONE!

I found an Associated Press article on the debt ceiling controversy that states there was, “Fierce Republican ‘blowback'” and “Tensions as ‘hard right’ Republicans refused the deal.'” The article went on to report, “Democrats said ‘extremist’ GOP views were risking a debt default as soon as next week.”

As usual, in my opinion, the press is lambasting the conservative view while reporting the Democrat view as normal. MY NOTE: If you agree, with the press and Democrats that going against a budget that will raise our national debt trillions of dollars is the wrong thing to do please comment and enlighten me as to how this budget could ever be acceptable- rant over. The Republican response/stance is listed as “Fierce, Blowback- (Miriam Webster dictionary: Blowback: an unforeseen, unwanted effect, result, or repercussions). Democrats are merely listed as saying bad things about the Republican stance- with no negative editorial addition.

I feel I have fallen into the pages of Alice In Wonderland, or a bad episode of Green Acres! What’s up is down and what’s down is up!

The United States Senate salaries have risen from $1,500 per annum (year) in the 1790’s to 174,000 per annum in 2023. I don’t expect them to go forever without a pay raise, I will note, however that their pay increased from $101,900 per annum in 1991 to $174,000 in 2023. They are also eligible for pensions after serving 5 years (one term is 6 years).

It has become a regular occurrence to have a “stand-off” at budget time with both parties refusing to compromise until a default appears to be a possibility.

Congress raised the debt ceiling 14 times from 2001 to 2016.

This year, during the debt ceiling controversy, Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Brian Shatz of Hawaii reintroduced a bill to get rid of the national debt ceiling set by congress (Capitol News Service 04/29/23).

It is alarming, to me, that this has become a regular “game” played by people who have been elected to act in our (The Citizens of the United States) best interest. I can’t blame just one party as they both see it coming and wait until it’s a crisis to act. I am amazed (Sarcasm intended) that, somehow, the debt limit is always raised, and our government can go on writing checks.

We regularly hear of studies funded by our government’s money (Which is actually our tax dollars). Important issues such as the mating habits of urban frogs. We are also told that money must be spent to assist The Ukraine, re-imburse descendants of slaves, pay to abort babies, house illegal immigrants (undocumented aliens if you are offended) and numerous other projects that arguably should not be funded by government.

When I (And every other taxpaying citizen) am set to spend more money than I have I cut back, or change procedures to make more money When the people who are elected to oversee our money see the same problem they “raise the debt limit.” I can’t believe that the better answer is to go further in debt as a country rather than let the urban frogs mate undisturbed.

My intention is not to sound uncaring. I do feel we all need to hear the voice that is crying beware! I know I’m not the only one, but I also know we need a lot more information about just where the U.S.S. Titanic is heading. Many of us are oblivious as our ship is taking on water. We are pulling people into the lifeboats even as they are taking on water because they are already holding too many passengers.

I, truly, do not believe our republic can survive with this repulsive debt. The last time the U.S. had a balanced budget was 2001 (Wikipedia).

If I write checks without the money to cover them, I will have the opportunity to re-acquaint myself with many of the people I have put in jail. I would be forced to join them in prison.

If my credit card limit exceeds a certain amount my credit card company will no longer allow me to use it.

Doesn’t 31 trillion dollars sound extreme to you?

Please comment, positive or negative. I look forward to hearing your opinion. If there is not a comment section, please tap on the title and one should appear at the end of the blog. Sorry for any inconvenience, I am working on the problem.

Thanks,

Phil

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