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Reparations? Sure, I Have a Plan.

We are currently in flux as a society. Defund the police is a large movement. Black Lives Matter is a movement. Citizens express their indignation with the Government, Political parties, and each other. It gives you pause to think about he way this all should work. But, I am a realist. I have been a repairer of things my entire life. So, this issue is nothing more than a problem that needs a solution. I think I have one that makes sense and works. Lets go through it step by step.

The simplest case for reparations is that people financially benefited from the work of the slaves they owed. I agree with that statement. Slave owners bought and sold human beings for their own benefit. It is factually incorrect to say otherwise. In today’s terms it would be known as theft, kidnapping, human trafficing, and an invalid contract. Aside from any feelings about slavery, it has had an impact on the black culture. So, lets just acknowledge that and move on to how to fairly compensate the victims. This is where it becomes a simple, legal, and fair way to proceed.

We don’t need to have all Americans pay for the ignorance and cruelty. All Americans didn’t participate in slavery. Slavery was in grained in the southern lifestyle. Just that statement eliminates the States deemed to be the Union states. They fought against it. They won the war. they did their part of calling out a huge injustice. That leaves only those states that were in the confederacy as defendants to the legal action. If we remove the 85 percent of southeners that did not own slaves, that leaves 15 percent who did. So, this group is the ones who directly benefitted from slavery. Being that slaves were considered property, there is a paper trail. Meaning we can know who was a slave and who was an owner. That gives us a pool of defendants and the ability to locate the desendents of those who owned slaves or the people that received the long term benefits of slaves.

We have identified defendants in this action, lets define our plaintiffs. Anyone who was a slave is a possible party to the action. That would mean that any descendants of slaves would have standing to bring action against those who benefitted from slavery. see, that wasn’t so hard. Now we know who can sue who. Anymore than that is counter to the judicial system. This is where the US legal system and the constitutional come right in line with the ability to sue and the procedure to do it. We just have to pass a very simple law at this point. It should be a simply wrote law that everyone can follow.

The law should state the following in clear precise language: That people were brought to this country against their will, those people have had their basic human rights trampled on, those people were denied justice and should have their day in court. Exempt any plaintiff from any statues that would prevent this action. Easy lemon squeezy. Let those who feel they have been wronged be able to recoup damages. It also puts the defense of that action squarely on those who benefitted, while not trying to hold an entire race and society responsible for the actions of the few.

This may not be a popular position. What position is anymore? The truth of this country is that we are a capitalist nation. We generally monetize things. We feel that people have to made to pay. Example, the Brown family sued OJ for damages from the death of Nicole. They won. The legal systems calls it a loss as OJ wasn’t convicted. But the Brown family made him pay. This is the way we do things. We as Americans have a right to sue. I will leave you with the words of our constitution.

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law

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What is Going On?

What in the world is going on? People are out doing god knows what. Tearing this down, building new things, and yet we still remain. I have seen so many changes in my life. I have experienced so much of the changes in society. Most of those are over time. Unlike today where it changes quickly. I am just amazed at people. I feel no anger or remorse for the past, but I understand why some people do.

There are so many news stories and news outlets, it can be difficult to know what is true or not quite true. In the continuous news cycle we have, the story is often repeated rather than explored. I was taught about yellow journalism in school. Its an interesting concept. Today we call it spin. The deeper truth is it really doesn’t matter to most people. However, to some it is the only thing that matters. Many don’t realize the truth like the problems we want to solve are more complex and not black and white.

We have a spectrum of color across the truth. We deny want doesn’t serve us and praise the things that do. I find the truth is a sliding scale of narrative. Your truth is determined by your experience. Just as mine is determined by my experience. That is both the beauty and curse of the individual. When we take our case and cause into the limelight, we fail to start from a shared experience. We start from the point of danger. Its the same thing we all do. We all are ruled by our own prejudices. But we certainly don’t have to be controlled by it . Nor do we have to listen to it.

The simple and obvious point to start from is find the shared experience and then dialque from it. It is a fairly simple example. We were all born, grew up, attended some school somewhere, felt emotions, and formed ourselves. I tell my son that we should be divided between two categories in this country. US Citizens and those who aren’t. It isn’t about nationalism, but about having too many categories. It would give us a common starting point. In my eyes, we all have the exact same rights. Black, white, Asian, LGBTQ+, gender variants, and the new categories have exactly the same rights. No one more than any other.

I don’t care what bathroom you want to use, in the light of dusk they are still bathrooms. Should we have an argument that lasts years over it or just make bathrooms with one toilet, one sink, and one door? I would rather solve the problem than keep hearing about it. Does everyone have a right to be respected? Absolutely, but remember that fixing problems is a catalyst to that. We all fear change and what we don’t know, but that shouldn’t be a consideration. If we only rely on past experience, we can’t look forward.

I empathize with those who have experienced racism. It literally breaks my heart. No one should be harassed, beat, or be shot for there different skin color. No one should be dragged out of a car at gun point. I know this because it happened to me. Not because my skin color, but because my plate was from a different state. I was pulled out because I “made them nervous”. They questioned me about having a gun. They asked me why I was in that neighborhood. So, I have a little bit of the shared experience. People may say because I have not been discriminated based on skin color. I have been discriminated for economic reasons, family history, military service, and sometimes in the places I have lived for my skin color being different than the rest of the neighborhood.

I have experienced the isolation from that. I went to a very decent high school in a very affluent area as the poorest family. My stepfather was a hard working man who wanted the best education for us. Even if it cost him everything. Which in the end it did. Believe me, he said several times that he knew it. He is a great man, great human being, and he sacrificed for us. He has a lot of opinions that I don’t agree with, yet we can still discuss the issues. His views were shaped in the 50’s and 60’s when the world was different. Maybe we should all look at the source of our own basis.

Some people were forced to come here and do manual labor. They would be forced to pick cotton by hand, It is horrible that people had to endure it. This I know for the stories of my mother hand picking cotton for next to nothing as a child in the south. Yes, she is white. I grew up most of my life before high school in a single parent home. My mother worked several jobs to support us. She was no saint when it comes to being a nurturing mother. She was heavy handed and dealing with her own demons from her trauma.

My father and mother split when I was 4. I wouldn’t see him again until the state police sent me a picture and an interview. Most of my life I have had to figure things out by trial and error. I had little moral compass and did things to try and feel better. But it can be tough growing up without a father or the love of your mother. It is confusing with a step parent and rules after having to fend for yourself. It can certainly explain my many failed relationships. I like this gives me a little glimpse into the experience of many blacks in this country.

I think the only left we can do is go forward from this point. Finish tearing down the statues, disband the parts of government that aren’t color blind, and protest. When we are done with that, lets sit down and figure out the solutions to problems. Let’s fix our house first, then we can truly show the world what freedom means. And what freedom and liberty feel like. Quit screaming at each other. Slogans do nothing without actions. Actions do nothing without respect. Respect is American. We can figure this out when we have enough sense to talk to each other.

Why Redistribution of Wealth Won’t Work

There is a lot of talk around this nation about socialism. I am no expert in all the political theories. I am not really an expert on most things. However, I have been in retail for a number of years. I have also been in customer service my whole life. I won’t go through the reasons socialism has failed. You can Google it. Draw your own ideas and thoughts about it. I just want to talk about the simple reason that supply and demand ( a very capitalistic idea) will over take the redistribution of wealth.

Most Socialist claim that by taking ownership of the private corporations and returning that wealth to the people will level the field for this country. That it will in a major way stop the racism that is still infects some people. That once this happens, those people can suddenly look beyond what they have been taught through generations. The intended effect is that it flushes some people with cash. American citizens and others living in this country do one thing more than any other country. We spend money. Some as fast as they get it. Look up how the lottery wrecked my life for further clues. What do you think would happen if everyone could buy an Iphone in cash?

Do you think that the market demands for just an IPhone would be more or less? People generally buy what they can afford. In a position to buy a limited supply of anything drives the price up. Then we can all drive Corvettes, have the latest phone, eat wherever we want, and the sky would be the limit. The price of everything would increase as the demand did. That makes the free money worth a lot less. When that happens the inflation goes sky high. The government has to print more money to stabilize the wealth. And the vicious circle continues. Seems a little like Venasula. Well, more than a little. Pretty soon the regulations will overcome any objections and companies will move and close.

We somehow assume that there is a duty by companies to innovate. Companies are out to make a profit. If there is no profit, is there a reason to stay in business? Would the high taxes be too much to employ people? Would everyone show up and give their best effort if we took all the motivation away to do things? Although to some, Socialism is the answer to all problems, it creates more problems and those problems bring a complexity that cannot be solved. To tell someone that society will care for them and they can take as much as they need is ridiculous. What do you tell the doctor who works 80 hours a week that he is paid the same as the 7 11 clerk who works 40? What do you tell him about the number of years they have sacrificed in college and residency? To take away the sense of accomplishment and drive is to delete the struggle they have gone through.

If this is the America that is left standing in 10 years, people will cheat, steal, and lie to the system to get what they want. That is going to redefine the idea of classes. If this idea takes effect and holds; it will create 2 classes only. One, the ruling class. Those in charge of the system. two, those that are forced to abuse the system to live. Is that getting us anywhere? There is a reason we have the system we do. I will admit it has been perverted by governmental officials, laws, and unjust regulations. But we really don’t need to make that worse due to another bad idea. But, if there are people out there that think socialism is a great idea; find some area and show the rest of us in this country that it can work here. Bind yourselves together as a community. Pass your agenda and live it here in the US. Start a township in this country and build that dream. Then show me how well that works.

The Current Movement and the Dialog

The US is a strange place. Rightly so that we are a strange country with even stranger dialogs. It isn’t a matter of right or wrong for me. It is a matter of truth, facts, and solutions. I have seen both medias showing their view of the protests. Their view on what the discussion should be. I think we as Americans are in the middle of a problem turned into civil unrest. Its a return to the race riots of the 1960’s as far as I can tell. We live in a time of great potential. Yes, we can do so much now that people are listening. But we need to understand the problem as it is, not how we want it to be. Then we can find the boldness to try something else.

Defund the Police??????I see that there is a growing problem among the various racial groups and ethic groups with the police. It to me was an eventual behavior. When you give some citizens the power and control over other citizens you create power. Power corrupts and seemingly absolute power corrupts absolutely. There have been several officers who have violated the public trust. We have all seen the YouTube clips. From ignorantly violating the laws they swore to protect. I see the anger and fear for people from years and years of abuse of the public they should be serving and protecting. It would on its face look valid to defund the police. I almost believe that but I have a big problem with that. We need some type of protection from those who violate the laws. we does that leave us?

Maybe we should break the cause of the issue into two smaller issues. We should start by having people not in a government look at the cause of the economic down turn that festers and increases crime. We need to look at education in those areas. We need to look at the moral fiber of that community. Then the government could pass budgets for the areas and serve the underserved communities. We need to really look at crime and figure out what we can do to minimize it. Until we can fix the broken communities we will need the police. Someone needs to stand up for things. We need to look at splitting families. Where fathers are and aren’t. See what works and what doesn’t. This is a long term view for assessing the causes and implementing a solution.

In the meantime while we do that and experiment to get it right. Which would be much easier than waiting for a government that fails us. We can ask for everyone’s help to be a country of liberty and freedom. It really doesn’t matter who is to blame. We just need to fix it. We need to look at it and see what we can do in every community. And we need to realize what works in Portland may not work for Chicago. We should work block by block methodically. Let the community tell us what it needs. Assess their request and make sure we aren’t repeating mistakes. We need to change the idea of giving worthless promises to people. That is a long step one. What do we do in the intern? That is going to be a several step solution.

One, Fully Fund the Police. Not to hire more officers but give them more tools and training to avoid abuse of power. We should find better nonlethal tools. The Bolo or anything else we can dream up to prevent people from being shot. Then need to look at a new model of policing. One where safety of citizens is key. What if we took a an old idea and a new idea. We make those officers who provide services to live in those areas. Nothing makes the neighborhood a little better when officer friendly walks his dog. He says hi and waves. He becomes part of the community he serves. It is his community now. Do you see the beauty of that.

Second, take the state and city ability to collect fees and fines off traffic stops. Because that has become an income stream for many cities. I lived in the Chicagoland area for years. I still have no idea how a 50 dollar fine becomes 250 dollars. I believe it is the stream of money that makes the courts and jails full. When policing is a business, the officer because a glorified tax assessor. The court system is laden with fines and fees. I won’t pretend to be able to break the profit and loss statement of the courts. When you couple that with the attorney fees, filing fees, and the walkthrough the court house fee; you get a money handler and business instead of justice. We spend so much of the officer’s day on those items, that the rest is very little about safety and more about paperwork. How can that work without burnout, corruption, and discrimination? It needs to change.

Third, a real tribunal made of real people. I believe we should let people decide what is right for their community. People should be able to fire and bad officer as easily as firing a bad plumber. We have let Union contracts control the process; rather than the people who should. I truly believe most officers are solid individuals trying to help. I believe that some have lost their way. I don’t know if all of them can be saved, but they are Americans and worthy of the effort. We are asking people to protect and serve us; we should give them some credit for that. We should ask the police to medically retire any officer who is unfit to serve. Now, here comes the kicker.

Fourth, Limit Hours and Increase pay. What’s the difference between a doctor and a cop. They both save lives. The education is less for an officer. By 4 years or how ever long medical school is. They both have to work in the field for years before they can work on their own. They don’t get even close to the same pay. We should pay people of their value in services. Not to mention teachers are way underpaid. But don’t you think if we spent the money recruiting the right person to be an officer, we would have better officers. No more than 8 hours total for a shift. If you have time to enjoy your life; you are generally more happy. Happy people act and think differently than unhappy people.

Fifth, No One Goes It Alone. That is right. I am in favor of 2 in a car to 1 left alone. Two people who know each other and work together can better work to a common goal. Some higher crime areas may need more units but no one can go it alone. In my military service, we took care of each other. Looked out for RPGs and landmines together. Even when given a lawful order; our Commander would always say “If anyone has a better idea, Speak Up”. I guess most civilians and other branches really don’t believe that Marines are smart enough to figure what works. Our whole job was to protect and defend the US. Yes, some marines are horrible and mentally misguided. Most of them are not. The point is that we understood the 2 man foxhole. We took care of each other and still obeyed the laws.

When we finally open up to the dialog that we have been denying; we will pull this together as a country. We will work towards the day when we can stand hand in hand. Brothers, sisters, LGBTQ+ members, transgender, black, white, asian, hispanic, and anyone else I forgot can stand up and say we can do anything. My 7th grade English teacher would often say that the motto of her army unit was “the difficult we will do right away; The impossible will take just a little longer”. SGT. Baker in the Marines told me ” don’t come in here with a problem, unless you have a solution”. He never meant it to be the right or only answer. To him the solution was the willingness to have ideas and be open to ideas. Shouldn’t we all?

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Why Can’t I have Szechuan Sauce? Seriously.

Ok, ok, ok. I get it. The world is closed due to a virus. But how much joy can they take from us? Don’t go anywhere without a mask; no bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, beaches, or anything fun that takes more than 1 person. I guess that is ok. I mean Mcdonalds is open. The golden arches will provide you with anything you could want, so long as it is on their limited menu. Definitely a shake if the ice cream machine is working (if that really happens). The have become a go-to for eating in during the pandemic. Side note: did you know The Grateful Dead played one hundred and seventeen shows in the height of the Hong Kong Flu (they have a habit about naming things from the origin of it. You know, like the Vietnam war). The Hong Kong flu was in fact a form of SARS…. Back to my point; McDonald’s has become a discriminatory seller of products.

I seriously mean that. In our time of great upheaval, The Corporation headquartered in the Chicago area chooses other countries above America. They remove menu items that are good but they can’t sell enough. The constant asking if I want apples in the Happy Meal. Like anyone does really. Parents have the job of eating those apples after kids turn their head at them. Not even to mention they can’t figure out how to toast a damn english muffin. Yet, still I go. But I have reached my limit of patronage with this last straw. No, Eric, you cannot have the delicious szechuan sauce. Eric, the world is on lock down. The movie Mulan may not ever release.

But, if you are an Auzzie, the world of conveniece and tastiness await you. Yes, that is right, a US Corporation chose to let them have the sauce. I see them asking 20 dollars Australian which is like, I have no idea the conversion rate. Last time I was in Sidney in 2016, I got a cup of coffee and a pack of cigarettes for 20 Australian dollars. It not only seems pricy to me and also I would have to pay shipping. Being poor in America sucks if you like certain things. I wouldn’t expect a million or billionare to pay that. They probably would not either. There is a reason they have money. Besides that I just want very few things in life, money isn’t on the list. But those people from down under have such an advantage over me. They get the sauce.

Soylent Green is People

First let me say that I enjoy a grabbing headline. I really liked this as it is a awesomely bad movie. Charlie Hesston acted more in that movie than any other previous movies. He gained something about acting he didnt have before. Great for him. I liked the plot of the movie that the Soylent Green substance was made from recycling people. The film is taken from the belief that the earth at some point would have hotter temperatures and be less able to feed people. Then we turn to a very nefarious way. Changing the body into food to feed other humans. You can see this theme in Cloud Atlas. It is not a unknown theme to do something despicable and lie for authority.

Now, if you thought this was a movie review; it’s more of an exploration of ideas. We as a society have always looked to science fiction as a predictor of the potential of wild ideas. I wonder what Elon Musk read as a child. Could that have been a part of his drive to make something happen that was deemed impossible by experts. If we had never had Jules Verne, where in technology would we be. What would have inspired a young man to build a computer company out of his garage, if there was no dream. I believe that we as Americans have time and time found a way to accomplish what has been deemed the impossible.

Being that is what we do is take an idea, make it our own, and work the science until it happens. We only do this when we have had an exhaustive thought about it. It becomes a drive to create the impossible. Then we run back to science fiction and figure out what is next. We will always do that as long as there are always dreamers. The exciters of the soul cry to do what must be done and do more than what they say can be done. This is the heart of innovation. The opposition against innovation drives the innovator to be stronger, smart, better, and full of resolve to do what is impossible.

Hours of this could pass and I would never get tired of saying things about all of us as innovators. Every family has one. The one who wants to feed you a new recipe, make something in the shop, build something, a new app, something new with software, and so many other things. We are innovators. We solve problems no one else can. We continue to look at the past to inspire us. We look to today to guide us. We are full of resolve and never surrender. This is who we are as a people. We build things no one else can build. We hold back the waters of rivers and harness there power for electricity. Any problem out there has a solution. We just need to use the truth and the facts of who we are guide us. Look towards the past as a reminder of what we let happen so that it can never happen again. We can solve the problems of our country with love, respect, openness, and most of all innovation.

Who’s Got the Check?

Ever been out to dinner with friends? Do you ask how the check should be divided beforehand? Or is there a normal discussion about it? In the end someone has to either pay the check or divide up the check. It is just as simple as that when it comes to goverment spending. Someone has to pay the bill when it comes do. We have for years been punting the issue to the next generation and the next generation after that. It is akin to leaving the dinner check on the table and saying the next guy will get it. That never happens, businesses don’t allow that. Its pay as you go.

Maybe its all the conversation going around the table. People are forgetting the check will come eventually. I have sat at a table with friends trying to decide who should pay for what. Most of the outcomes where a division based on orders. You ordered it, you pay for it. Some cases there has been a member of the party that pays the entire check. But more often than not it is divided by people in a fair manor. Every time you go out, you expect the same person to pay. Regardless of what you ate or drank, the same person has to pay. To even regard that the person ate or drank, that person should pay.

I don’t have a problem with this as long as all parties agree. If they don’t agree, then it isn’t an agreement. What if the person paying the bill demanded some of your income in exchange for this? What if you still had to pay that amount to the person even when you did not go to dinner? We would claim this to be rude, unethical, and unfair. What if the person said he had to buy several dinners for those that would not or could not feed themselves? And the person still told you to pay. Would people agree to that? Agree to pay for others that contribute nothing to the dinner? They aren’t there for conversation or company, they just need a meal. What is the difference between that and the current situation?

Has anyone ask the current interest we will be paying for the last stimulus package? I care but I don’t know how many others do. To me there are large problems to stimulus packages. Who is going to weather the storm from paying the current bill and the next one? There will have to be a major reduction in spending at some point to pay for that. At least when you go to a restaurant you can see a menu with pricing to see what your contribution should be. Washington never tells or releases all facts. If they did, Americans would talk about it. Side note, most talked about issue in the bible? Money. Yet we refuse to pull the wool over our eyes. Sitting blinding in the dark we can see even the smallest candle flame. In the light of day, the sun burns its brightness onto the earth and we cannot see any candle.

We live in both the darkest and the light. We should never forget who snuffed the candle of freedom and liberty. More than that we should at least know the reason for it. It should be a heck of a lot better than ” Because it’s good for you”. It should have more breath than whimpering that. I firmly believe that we have been sold a Golden Gate Bridge located in Minnesota. We have great pictures they gave us, but it is only a picture. That bridge is not there. It will never be there because no people built it there. People are the ones who build things, People are the ones who destroy things, goverments should only provide for the common good. Roads, bridges, airports, defense, immigrations, and should do that by the majority of the people’s will. It should never be for the goverment to tell the people it governs by consent what is important to the people. It should always be the will of the people and the people shave the will to withdraw consent of governance. Those we call elections.

It is important to remember one simple fact. Goverment has no right or business to legislate morality. It gets us all in a very tight box. We should use the law as a continued resource for those who can not redress their complaints at any other level. Section 5 is very clear on who can sue who. To tell someone they can or cannot do something based on a morality is wrong. It should be closer the issue of your rights versus other rights. Your actions can only come into question when they intrude on other rights. You, me, everyone has rights until we greviously violate someone elses. We have spent way too many years discussing in justice to find that we have state sponsored injustice.

What if instead of calling the government when we feel injustice, we take it to that person and reasonably talk about it. We pull that person to the side and tell that person what they have done to violate our rights. Then we talk about where to meet. Remember compromise? We have done it and still have the capacity for it. We just need to remember when someone is talking, someone should listen. We could then use the documents that all our rights are handed down from and see where is the middle ground. One case in point, your neighbor wants to build an eight foot privacy fence. Your neighbor asks you what you think. You say the view will be damaged. The neighbor say the deck you have easily allows you to see above the current fence. Should we involve the government? Or the courts. Yes, if we can’t agree and see the middle ground. No, if we see that we can fix this among ourselves. Which is often the case when we remove the emotion and think passionately that everyone in this country has the same exact rights.

What does that mean in our little dinner scenario? All parties need to agree to the division of the check in a way that doesn’t infringe on the rights of others. You want to be a nice person and pay the check, great. But I wasn’t invited to dinner. I didn’t get a meal. But they are making me pay part of the check. That is the biggest infringement on my rights to date. Now, the government is ordering dinner again. Not a dinner I wanted. Nor one I was invited to. Yet, I will pay part of the check. My one month old son is going to be responsible for what I can’t pay. Isn’t that a violation of his rights that he can’t fight for yet. He is going to pay for bailouts to states and cities for the rest of his life. He nor I asked for that. Should I demand money from the government because I can’t plan for the future. Or that I cannot have a voice in this. I have to wait for the congress to tell me what is a right?

The is no world that makes sense when all the citizens have to pay for the shortsighted failures of government. They had to know that if they shut down the economy in part, that it would have an effect on the amount of money coming in. A very few states have fully funded rainy day funds. They will do ok. Some states spend so fast that even they can’t keep track of the money. Yet once more, people in Washington are telling us we are all going out to dinner. Wait, only the ones they deem important. The rest of us don’t get to see the menu or the cost. We are without a meal and at home waiting for the bill.

My Rascist Cat

In the times we live in, it has become easier than ever to point the finger of prejudice. If we look hard enough for evidence, we can find someone or something to blame for our troubles. We find any little shred that can be turned towards others. It has become a society of blame , accusations, and far out things. It reminds me of a generation of so ago. 

 I can look at my cats behavior and see the racism there. He likes to beat up his mouse. Given that the mouse has a rainbow skirt, he must be homo and transphobic. He paws at the yellow banana. Clearly he has no moral compass and hates the yellow people. Sometimes he lays on top of the white shelves. This is a sign he finds himself superior to all races by sitting on top of them. 

 I have tried to.talk to him about his behavior. Like all racists, he doesn’t see his gray privilege. He sits in front of his bowl meowing like a YouTube Karen. Other times he sits under the tv. Blocking the sun with white pillow cases. He seldom lets the other cat come and enjoy the space. He thinks he the only one to enjoy things because he is pure gray. The other cat has partial gray and doesn’t fit into his world view.

  It just proves that it you look hard enough, you can find it anywhere. Although, I am in no way a fan of either party, social justice, or socialism, everyone should be heard. We have a right to be heard. Even if its wrong, disgusting, politically incorrect, and even rascist. We have a right to free speech not free speech that has to be approved by everyone. Is it a microaggression? To me that is made up and without merit. Yes, it makes things uncomfortable. Do you think the conversations of abolitionists were comfortable at first. 

 I guess when it comes to playing the blame game , we have a lot of history of the world to look at. One man comes up fairly quick as the master of it. A shorter German man who convinced a whole country that one race was responsible for all the things that were going on. They had Jewish privilege and that they were taking all the best for themselves. He made a game out of the propaganda of that. We see the same thing between the two Koreas. The South is to blame for the Norths problems. 

 If you are reading this and under 30, you may not understand all the sacrifices the Greatest Generation made to stop one man. One idea decimated a people for a very long time. If we had listened to people at the beginning, maybe more would have survived. Years later in 1977, those same people watched as Nazis marched through their town. They could have said no and but even they believed the people that hated them so much had a right to be heard.

 I wish there was more to be said. Were there studies to be conducted to determine a truth we can accept and move forward. There arent . We are just guessing here. We always will when the cover is valued more than the book. When people.say they don’t see color, they want to tell you the truth they know. They see color but they will be damned if it will make a difference to them.  They want to see the person behind the skin. No matter what they have lived and been feed. They want to see you as you. They want to be seen them same way.

 

What problems have the government actually solved?

I know it is definitely me nowdays. My rage against the machine grows everyday of this lockcown. I read the suggested science about social distancing, masks, herd immunity, and economics. I am continually blown away how people become sheep. They want the government to protect them. To care for them. And eventually think for them.

 Let me be clear I affiliate with no party. Since my vote has always been marginalized, I gave up voting. I chose to think for myself and come to my own conculsions. I have spent years looking at raw data. Studies of up to a thousand units for production. What is right or wrong isn’t a factor. The anomaly is the true point. What doesn’t fit a theory of what does is unimportant. What is important is looking at things without a bias. That is out the window. Things change in a moment and over time with science. That doesn’t make them right. 

 When it comes to Govenor Newsom, Sissylacks, and the rest of the states forcing people to wear masks. I take an issue. There isn’t any definite data on anything. They promote there science as true and correct. Just like CNN did in polling in the last election. They want you to feel safe and protected. Clearly, we aren’t by their own data. They discount that the more people you test, the more people will be positive. That is basic statistics. That mask are effectively for slowing the spread by 2 percent. That seems a little odd to force people for a two percent reduction. 

 The real truth they don’t want to discuss is what happens when we have no immunity for Covid 23. Because we won’t have a vaccine for years, we are going to keep living in a false sense of security. Life is a dangerous place. People die and people are born. Cars, guns, drugs, and other stupidly kill us everyday. Not to mention the numerous conflicts we have been involved in. The list is so massive. Which one of those problems has any government solved. Slaves were liberated in the 1865 and get we still can’t get our crap together on that one. People are just people and should be treated as equals regardless of race, gender, bias, and education. 

 So as I leave this, I can’t stop or go anywhere because I believe this mask push is wrong and violates so many US and state laws. I won’t participate in this farce on sheet principle. We can look to history for a.few indicators. Wasn’t Newsum the mayor of a liberal city in California before being the governor? Interesting that no one talks about the relationships between California governors and Speaker of the house. Or a Govenor related to a CNN anchor? Or the failed policies from both parties in the goverment? Or even the fact YouTube is owned by Google? 

 Let me leave with this final thought. The government never solved a problem. The best thing government can do is get out of the way. Let people who can do, do.

My Trans Son 

Often we watch videos on YouTube. Some of them for fun and learning. Others we watch just to laugh or even old shows you can’t see anymore. Last night we watched a man watch a video about coming out trans. Most of the videos this man produces are riddled with vulgarity unnecessarily. This video was different. 

 At several points in the film, he would recall his own experiences coming out. Both the movie and this man had similar experiences. What really got me is he quieted himself and was very poignant. Then at the point of trans person’s journey in film where anger is directed at the trans person’s mother. This young man say for the character to stop being hateful to his mother because she doesn’t understand. 

 That is more truth than I have heard of  this year. It is a deep truth that we all should remember. Whether you are a parent of a trans person or any other child, we should remember this. Remember there are things about each other that we don’t understand. Fear of the unknown has always been a major factor in human relationships. Fear is the driving force in racial divides. 

 Maybe we should look at all that is in the world with a different lens. Could we try to acknowledge that everyone is different in experiences as well as culture. Somethings we should do are basic and simple. One, acknowledge people as humans. Two, understand we may not understand them,. Three, things change and you can’t hold anyone to your standard and way of life. Four, we are all the same.

 I wish I could say I was proud of my son for coming out. Or that I fully understand what it means to him. I am not. I am proud of my son for being a great human being. For being him beyond the world. Knowing that the truth is important. And especially having the patience to try and inform me. Whatever your gender identity, we are all humans.