Gats Off ro the President

I was not going to write today. I have a 11000 things to do in about 8 hours. But, I have to congratulate and applaud the President and, for once, a group of bipartisan Congressmen and Senators for their new prison reform Act
For too long,  we have tried to reduce crime by way of punishment. This, very obviously, does not work. This Act will end the era of draconian punishments. No longer will small time, non violent crimes be punished by long prison terms.
When much younger, I saw parents beat, not spank bur beat, kids when they did wrong. It just meade them think of ways to not get caught. Even in training dogs, smart folks know that rewards work far better than punishment. All prisons do is make better criminals.
Of course, the violently criminal must still be hailed, but do we gain anything by harshly punishing small time criminals? The answer is a definite no and we actually lose a lot, because when they get out, they are badly damaged.
Now, this Act applies only to Federal sentencing. Let us hope that States will take similar steps.
 So, again. waty to President Trump. Way to go Congressmen and Senators. At last, the two sides are working together and maybe that will spread. It is a good day and may your day be blessed.

The Dangers of Thought

The rain is still coming today and after a day spent doing and thinking nothing, my restless brain is ar it again. I try to tell the little guy to chill, but, alas, it eill not cooperate. Thinking tends to make me face unpleasant issues.
We are still recounting ballots. Strange, back in the days before we had modern technology, we never had such problems. If the counts were off, and they may have been, results were called and we got on wuth the running of the Country. I have a very sharp bs detector and I think a very rotten game is being played, by both sides.
Don't like the results? Blame it on all sorts of malfeasance. Don't like the call for recounts" Claim the other side is trying to steal the election. The frustrating thing is that both sides seem to be right. What is happening"
Simple. There is a war, a serious war, between the factions trying to run the Deep State. Those who remember the Iran-Contra hearings under Reagan know that such a thing exists and that it is immensely powerful. They have the means and will to just ignore the Congress The President, and the Constitution. For a brief while, they all seemed on the same page, but power seeks more power  and such alliances will always fail.
The factions? Huge corporations and banks. The Military. The Intelligence community. These are the basics. Who is behind them? Shadow figures from all over the World, who control more money than you or I can imagine. Presidents like Wilson and Roosevelt spoke of such figure and how they truly ran things. They spoke of them once and had sense enough to go no further with their explanations.
There is much discord among such factions. Or is there? Possibly, that is a scam. designed to keep the American people on a confused, disturbed state of mind. Why? Enough chaos, and the Shadow Government can declare a Notional emergency and suspend the Constitution. Will they? Maybe, but not now. More power must be amassed. People must be ready for such a move, fristrated into accepting it. Remember, there are still a lot of very independent Americans who are quite craanky and heavily armed. Can the whole mess be avoided? Sure. Be honest and admit that right now, we have a big mess. President Trump to the contrary, we have not become great again. B etter, yes, but far from great. We still have far too much poverty, too many homeless including may kids, and overprice and unaffordable medical care. Our education system us a joke. We are still raping the Earth out of nothing more than simple greed. Much of the World loathes us and the rest tolerate us only because we are the big dog and they are scared of us. The only way out, other than letting the Powers that Be take over, is to get it together, at least moderately behave yourselves, and do your work, as long as uyou feel that the work is honorable. Do not actively resist. That will trigger the take over.  Passively resist ny forming communities, helping others and generally doing all yoy can to get rid of the tension, anger and dismay that the Nation is going through. Don't rock the boat. Instead, row it gently. Remember, you cannot stand up in a hurricane, but, like the palm trees, you can give a bit, go with the flow and then, when the storm passes, stand tall. I never thought I would see the day when a simple act of kindness was an revolutionary act, but there you are.
Anyway, the rain is easing and I have things to do, so let me end mu rambling nonsese by just say, Bless you, one and all.

A Quiet Day

Just hangin' out here in the middle of nowhere. Got nowhere to go, got nothin' to do. Dr. John. Shoo Fly Goes Marchin' On
That pretty much sums up my day and I intend to enjoy every minute of it. Fires are raging in California. Votes are being recounted in several Sates,  leading to the possibility of many lawsuits. The President of France is scolding President Trump, who does not take scolding well, and we are still reeling from 2 mass shootings and a series of mail bombs.
Gere, in N. Georgia, it is cold and rainy and I am going to have to be content with just hanging out. There was a time when I would have been frantic because I can not get out and about.
Now, all is well. I have come to greatly enjoy ;azy days. They give you rime to think things through. Or, on better days, just turn off the logical, problem solving part of the brain and drift along.
Just drifting along for a spell is health. From such rimes springs great creativity. When you run and push, sometimes you are simply banging your head against the wall and need to back off and find away around all of your issues. Have you ever watxhe a good running back head toward the line, see no opening, then stop, back up and go around. Such a move often leads to a big gain. That is why I value lazing around as a strategy.
Of course, you di not want to spend a lot of your time doing that. You want to ease off just long enough to see that opening. Then, run with it.
So, if you are in a place where you can go slow and easy for a little while, relax and enjoy it. When you see the opening, rake off. Even if that opening does not show, you have lost nothing. Just the opposite because you have gained a nice rest and, when realty intrudes and you must crank back up, you will do is with recharged batteries.. 
Whereever you are and however your day is shaping up, enjoy yourself. Trist me. Life is too short and too scared to spend your days struggling and worrying. Have a Blessed day, one and all. Remember, Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is right around the corner.

Meow

Cats fascinate me. I have never owned one,as if anyone can truly own a cat. Byt, I have had friend's with cars and they are odd creatures indeed.
When in college, my housemates had a Siamese. That was fine because, even though I am horribly allergic to cars, they are short haired and hypoallergenic. She was the princess of the household. When she wished to be held or petted, she let nothing stand in her way. No matter how mich syou discouraged het, she found a way into your lap and stayed as long as she pleased. If she wanted to be left alone, you dared not pick her up. Inwanted affection got you scratched. Dinner had best be in her bowl, when she wanted it, or you felt her wrath. But, in ger way, she was lovable and it was fun watching her explore her world.
Since then, I have been around friend's and neighbor's cats. They are interesting to watch, from a distance, If they get too close, I start sneezing and coughing.  They are an odd mix. They love exploring and are very curious. Yet, they seem terribly upset when anything is not where they expect it to be. A neighbor's cat, who spent a lot of time outdoors, was shocked when, after a hurricane, the woods and field were re-arranged. For days, she puzzled over the change. Or, I think that was what she was upset over. Who knows what cats think,except, perhaps, wizards and sorcerers.
I like cats, although not as mich as dogs. But, there is a problem. There are a lot, a whole lot of, stray cats. They carry disease. They root around in garbage cans and the mess ends up scattered all over. And, worse of all, they feed on small wild creatures, including small, mammals that people like and lovely song birds that we all love. In some regions, they make a large, negative impact on the environment. In some parts of the Country, they are shot on sight.  Sad, vyr necessary.
So do your feline friends a favor. If they are ever allowed outside, ever, get them neutered. Cats that roam around loose will drift away for days Sometimes they come back, sometimes not, but beyond a doubt. they will breed. The killing of the cute little creatures is not a nice thing to contemplate. So do your part and get them fixed. Then enjoy their curious ways. Blessings and Meow.

Again

I really wanted to write about cats today, but, again, horror has erupted. College night at a Country bar in California gunned down. Why? I have no idea and, at this point, as far as we are being told, neither does anyone else.
We must begin to acknowledge, I am coming to believe that there is no reason. Not in any way we normally think of reasons. Anger, terrorism, political motive, what does it matter. Insanity is what is happening. The cause of insanity may simply be insanity.
I am beginning to believe that insanity is like a virus. It infects people and spreads, sort of a psychic flu. It may be time to stop trying to deal rationally with the  irrational. I reluctantly think that at almost any public gathering there needs to be someone, or several someones who are armed. The minute a shooter pills a gun, shoot them. This is what you would do with a rabid animal and there is not much else to be done.
On a day to day basis, we as those still untouched by this horrible virus must stay spiritually strong. Look to your higher angels and stay calm and compassionate. I know of no other effective course of action. Such strength can spread from one person to another and, often, heal those taken by 'the virus.'
Be very careful about the what you watch and read and think. Watch what you say. When angry, calm yourself.
We are in a battle with an enemy we cannot see. Where it comes from, what it wants, we do not know. What we do know is that every culture on Earth has beliefs in spirit beings who are malevolent.
For now, keep cool. and pray, in whatever manner you choose, for a return to normalcy. It is unlikely that the human race will ever be rid of these waves of violence. They have happened before and will almist surely happen again. Just remember, that we have the tools to fight back and, always, these waves pass. Blessings on all of you.

It's All Over Now

Blessedly, the mid terms have passed. Tomorrow, I think I will write about something important, like cats. But here we go.
The Democrats won the House. They figured to and that means they can continue the never ending investigation if the Administration. If they do so, they will not win again for a very long time. The American people are sick of all if that. It also gives them a lot more leverage on budget matters. When most Americans perceive the economy as at least doing better, I don't know if even they are dumb enough to recreate the mess we are just leaving.
The Republicans keep the Senate and this is what mist be infuriating to liberal Democrats. To be blunt, Justice Ginsberg will not last a whole lot longer. The President will almost surely get one more Supreme Court Justice seated and that will tip the court far to the right for years to come. With a Senate majority, he could name Genghis Khan and get him confirmed. Me? I have no problem with that. Others will be frantic.  So be it.
Many Republican Governors will take office, some returns and some new. In a time when many States are still not exactly thriving economically, fiscal responsibility is important to voters.
To sun up, the elections show an edgy satisfaction with the way things are going. Shaky, but confident. They do not want a still leaky boat rocked. That os a reasonable position and they have spoken.
Tomorrow, I want to write about cats. So, until the, meow.

We Don't Know, What We Don't Know

I want to be fair. I will also be brief because we, here in Atlanta, are about to get hit by a huge thunder storm.
I criticize President Trump and his fellow Republicans a lot. I also criticize the Democrats, a lot. I have criticized every President in recent years and will continue to do so. Oddly, this is not a political post. It is just about fairness.
I base these criticisms on the information the public has. that is all any of us can do. However, in a World that has grown amazingly complex and a World that seems to be moving faster every day, combined with a media that gives us news in 20 second sound bites, we do not really know what is going on. Add to that all the information that Presidents get that is off limits to the public, and there is just know way to be able to make a truly fair judgement.
What is going on behind the scenes is a fascinating subject and er can, and will continue to, try to figure that out. That is human nature and sometimes I think we get close to the btruth. But, we seldom get full answers.
We simply do not know what sort of struggles and battles go on behind the scenes and in foreign lands. Heck, there may be news of a looming UFO invasion or plans to try to trigger the Yellowstone super volcano. There may be word of potential bio weapon attack. The public's access to such horrific intelligence mist be limited or their would be chaos.
Let me quickly say the I know of no such crises on the horizon. My point is, there are things we just do not know.
It all boils down to whether we trust our  leaders to handle the stiff we are not told.   Mostly, I do not. We have been promised things over and over again by leaders and they do not deliver. I will give President Trump a good bit of credit. I do not find him likable, nor do I like his rhetoric. But, more than any President in recent memory, he has delivered on his promises. I do not agree with all that he has done, bot by a long shot. But, in a begrudging sort of way, I trust him. That counts for a lot.
No matter how today's elections turn out, just keep your cool. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, but we will all be fine, if we just keep some perspective and get on with our lives. Blessings to one and all.