America and UFOs - Hillary and the Spacemen

Hillary Clinton supporter and past holder of several Government offices, John Podesta, is thrilled. It seems that Hillary has assured him that she will get to the bottom of the whole UFO/Alien Visitor thing. Well thank God for that. Here we have been fussing over that for the last 70 years and it seems that all we had to do was wait patiently on Ms. Clinton. Boy, I can rest easy now.

Of course, her husband said the same thing and got no real answer. Jimmy Carter requested that information from then CIA Director George W.H. Bush and was told that it was available on a need to know basis and that the President did not need to know. Bush himself, when seeking the Presidency, said the there were many, many files on the subject and hinted that he might release some. He did not. So, I wonder just why she thinks they would answer her.

Even if they did, why should we believe anything the CIA says? They have hardly been a fountain of truth over the years. Words like lying, psychotic, psychopathic, manipulative, control freaks, assassins, drug smugglers all come to mind when I see those 3 letters, but maybe Hillary can somehow charm them into telling her the real deal. Maybe, but not likely.

I am of the opinion that after all this time and after all the shenanigans pulled by the CIA and  governments, ours and others, no one really knows the truth. Bits and pieces maybe, but not all of it. The whole UFO thing, flying saucers and such, may be a hoax used by our controllers to scare us. Abductions may be hiding government mind control experiments, replacing real memories of experiments with false memories of abduction, not really a difficult thing to do (the CIA's own files show that they have been working at that since at least the 1940s).

Or maybe all the tales are true. Maybe ET is flitting around all the time. Why? Depends on who you ask. Some say to guide is to a Utopian future. Others say they want to control us and make us slaves or food when they take over. Others say they care not a fig about people and just want to keep us from devastating this lovely Planet.

Personally, I think that no one is flying through the stars to visit. The distances are too great and the wormhole thing scientists talk about may be unworkable. Wormholes almost certainly exist, but there is no way to control where and when you will exit one. I tend to believe that we are visited by, what Jacques Vallee refers to as 'interdimensional beings, and they have always been buzzing about. In past times we have called them angels, demons, devas, kami, Manitou, archons, elementals, gods and other names. Some are benevolent, some quite malicious and all are tricksters. As far as weird craft in the sky, most are experimental craft that we are working on although, if all that is seen flying is lights, then it is quite likely just one of our constant, tricky companions ( see the Book of Ezekiel and his description of the flying wheel. Most scholars say he was seeing one of the seraphim, not a flying saucer, but a different kind of being, an angel. No, angels are not cute naked babies with wings; the Bible always describes them as frightful.).

Who knows? Maybe all of the above are true or maybe there are far more people having psychotic breaks than we think. Maybe all of this is nonsense. Contrary to what Fox Mulder says, the Truth may not be out there. It really does not matter. It is a fun story and fascinating to goof around with but, until one of them lands and says 'hello' or starts blasting us from the sky, we have more important things to do,  like figuring out how to provide clean water for everyone when there are too many people on Earth. Or maybe trying to figure out how we will grow crops when all of the bees die off and the climate has become too harsh.

Besides, why should we worry? Hillary is going to get to the bottom of the matter.

America - Who's Qualified?

I keep swearing that I will leave politics alone but, here I go again. We are hearing Hillary and Bernie braying at each other over 'qualifications.' Let me make this clear. No one is qualified to be President of the United States.

There are no training progarms and no college course to prepare you to take on that role. Many who run are lawyers but legal training, at best, may help you think logically but emotions are a big part of running this strange Country. It is useful to know History but there are problems with that. There are many interpretations of history. Hell, there many versions of any historical incident and, often, a President does not have time to sort thorugh the whole mess. Besides, sometimes, new stuff happens.

In this day and age, a knowledge of Science should be of use, but I will wager that, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, who was trained in Nuclear Physics, most Presidential candidates would have to struggle to understand Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Military experience seems to be a commonly excepted criterion. Well, let's see. Bill Clinton had none. GW Bush had next to none and Obama had none. Trump has none. Sanders has none. Hillary definitely has none. Same with Cruz and Kasich. It seems that military experience no longer matters. It is worth noting, however that Eisenhower, the 20th Century President with the most Military experience is the guy who warned us about the expanding power of the militray-industrial complex. He was right and we ignored him.

So, who mught be a truly qualified Presidential candidate. It would have to be someone who is trained in all areas of human knowledge and is able to look at the whole picture and see how everything fits together. In my lifetime, I can think of only one such person, the late, great R. Buckminster Fuller. Fuller thought of himself as a throwback to days past in that he was a generalist, Rather than focusing on one area of knowledge, he looked at the whole. Schools today do not turn out students like that. It is a shame that Bucky never ran, although I am sure he would not have been elected. He simply was not glib and flashy enough. In America, style too often beats substance.

So who among our present crop and candidates is qualified? Not a one. Bernie and Hillary and all the rest need to sto picking at each other about that and take long looks in the mirror.

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America at The Masters

The Masters is here. Golf fanatics like myself are glued to the screen. That is where I am headed as soon as I finish writing. This year is a dandy. The old Augusta course, after a few years of playing soft and easy, is hard, fast and the wind is swirling in the pines, reminding the players that Mother Nature is still the boss.

The old guard is gone. Tiger is out indefinately. Phil Mickleson missed the cut. Ernie Els knocked himself out on the first hole, and all the old Champions, with the exception of the remarkable Bernhardt Langer, are gone.

The new guys are here and boy are they surprised. Ricky Fowler confidently said that this was his year. He missed the cut. Jason Day, World's #1 looked totally befuddled, saying that he was hitting good shots but they just were not going where they should. Jordan Speith is clinging by a very thin thread to the lead and sounded badly shaken at his Friday play. Actually, his 2 over par was not bad in the windy conditions, but his fall off from the 6 under Thursday rould shook him. That's golf. A day's reward will often give way to unpleasantness. The game is humbling.

Rory McIlroy, in 2nd place, had a very sane reaction to his 2nd round. He seemed amazed that he survived it and surpised that he managed a 1 under.

This is why I love golf. Not only is the game difficult, not only do you see great skills displayed, it shows you the mental make up of the players. Bobby Jones said that golf was mostly played on a 6 inch field between your ears. He was right.

So, in just a few minutes, I will be glued to the set, watching what should be quite a show. Oh, and there is a bonus. The Augusta National course is one of the most beautiful bits of landscaping on Earth. Covered with azaleas, dogwoon, redbud, jasimeine, nandina, all set in a backdrop of tall loblolly pines and little creeks and ponds, on a land full of bumps and hills, it is worth watching for its beauty alone.

Update: I wrote the above on Saturday morning and am posting it on Sunday morning. In the meantime, surprisingly little has changed. Bernhardt Langer, who at 59 has the physique of a 15 year old gymnast, is hanging in. Jason Day is 3 back and still seems slightly befuddled. Rory McIlroy is only 5 back after a bad Saturday. At the end of the round interview, he looked ready to weep and said that Sunday he would be shooting at all the pins, a recipe for disaster at Augusta. Jordan Speith looked shell shocked after finishing bogey, double bogey to turn a 4 shot lead to 1 shot. Who will win? Who knows. The wind will be down but the greens will be hard as cement and  fast and slick, like putting on glass. It will be fun to watch.  

America - Bill Clinton Sees His Chickens Come Home to Roost

Folks, hang on. Things are getting a little weird. I am beginning to believe that we are seeing the beginning of the end of all politics as we know it. The Republican Party and the neo-conservative movements are obviously on the eve of destruction. Now, the chinks in the armor of Liberalism are showing. Bernie Sanders is a self proclaimed Socialist and he is making life extremely difficult for Ms. Clinton. Good for him. At least he is somewhat honest.

The real surprise is Bill Clinton's harassment by the 'Black Lives Matter' group. Let me say bluntly that I find that movement simple minded and annoying, but I never thought they would go after old Willy. After all, for years he has been lauded, almost deified by black activists. Why have they turned on this man who was once called 'America's real first Black President?

Well, when Slick Willie was in the White House he pushed through some bills designed to help black folks. First, the Welfare reform bill demanding that welfare recipients do some kind of work or engage in job training. Good idea, except since it affected so many single moms, it left a lot of loose, unsupervised kids and, being kids in rough neighbor hoods, they got in trouble, a lot of trouble. Nothing new or surprising there.

So, Willie passed some near draconian anti-crime laws and suddenly these kids started ending up in jail. There you see the problem with liberal thinking. The government cannot solve behavioral problems and cannot create jobs for people who have no skills and little interest in acquiring them.

Now, in truth, I think Willie did what he could and had to. Politically, the Nation was in no mood to keep giving money to people who did nothing. Now, we are not only not in the mood for that, we have no money to give them. And he had to do something about the crime because ti certainly did not stay in the 'hood. But, looking back, the Black Lives Matter folks seem to have expected him to just give them lots of money and let the kids run amok. This is the precisely the problem with Liberalism. It raises expectations unrealistically and cannot solve the problem.

The problem all along has been a matter of personal responsibility. I remember Jim Crow laws in the South and the violent reactions of northern white people when integration was forced on them. Yes, it was all horrible and so what? Get over it. People this entire World over have gone through periods of monstrous abuse and, if you look at History, there is one lesson that stands out. Those that succeed are the ones who learn from the past, then stand up and move on.

During the segregation days, there were many Black folks who went to school. studied and became Doctors, Lawyers and started successful businesses. I knew some and, yeah they had a tough deal. It was not right, but, they, with great dignity, went to work and made their lives better. I knew some of their parents and saw them work 70 and 80 hour weeks to better their kids. It all comes down to personal responsibility. The Government cannot solve your problems and will often make things worse.

So, to the Clintons and their ilk, I say. look what you did. You made things worse. And to Black activists I will say. stop whining. Stop wanting more and more from your Government and teach your kids a little discipline because the days when the rest of us wallow in white guilt are over. Either you are citizens and are willing to take responsibility for your own lives and to live in a dignified, moral fashion, or you will just have to sink in a mire of your own creation.

Bt the way, those neo-cons do not get off the hook. The American people, those with brains, are sick of you supporting mega-corporations through tax breaks, bail outs, and sweet back room deals and we have had enough of your treating the World as if you were playing Risk, the Game of Global Domination. Enough of your crap. Bring home the troops, repair the crumbling infrastructure, regulate crooked businesses and stay the hell out of our lives.

Americans Paying Attention to What Matters

I was wrong. It happens every now and then but this surprised me, pleasantly so. It seems that exit polls in Wisconsin show that terrorism is not the main concern of voters. I believed that the recent bombings in Belgium would trigger a reaction in the US but, no.

It seems that the economy is the key issue. Both Parties agree that the stagnant economy is a big problem. Republicans are second most concerned with high taxes while Democrats are upset about the rapidly increasing disparity between the rich and the rest of us. In both Parties, terrorism is third.

I was sure terrorism would be the big thing and push a surge toward the tough talking Cruz or the even tougher talking Trump. I am very pleased that Americans are keeping their eye on the ball and not falling for distractions.

There are many who would argue that terrorist incidents are not solely the work of those proclaiming themselves terrorists. We know, without question, that the CIA (not the whole Agency but rogue elements within it) created Al Qaida and the Taliban, and there is  considerable evidence that they have some kind of contact with ISIL Some think that these incidents are set up just to elicit a panic response from ordinary citizens, which will, in turn pave the way to tighter government control. Maybe, but I do not think so. I am sure of the CIAs manipulation of Al Qaida and the Taliban but I think that ISIL is like the Frankenstein monster, morphing from its parent organizations into something no one controls. Having said that, I am positive that the Powers that run things love to take advantage of these monstrous attacks to tighten their noose of control.

Of course the saner elements of our Nation and the rest of the World are concerned about terrorism and do what can be done to stop it but, to be honest, if people are willing to blow themselves to bits in order to kill a few others, there really is not a hell of a lot anyone can do and what can be done, pretty much is being done. No doubt it can be done better, but such efforts will never be 100% effective.

In the meantime, we all have lives to live and, quite rightly, we need to get a grip on our fairly dead economy. The American people are not panicking over terrorism and are focusing on matters that concern them on an every day basis. I am pleasantly surprised.

America - The Election and the Jokers in the Deck

I have been reconsidering my belief that this election will come down to Hillary and The Donald, with Hillary winning. It seems that the other candidates just refuse to roll over and play dead and that makes this farce that is playing out even more fascinating. When I say fascinating, I mean in the way a train wreck is fascinating. As much as you do not want to look, you have to.

Trump cannot seem to keep his foot out of his mouth and Hillary is looking a tad zombie like, except in the occasional moments she lets her considerable temper fly. Ted Cruz is making inroads and might have a chance if he was not so unlikeable and Kasich, while certainly to be congratulated for taking the moral high ground, is being mostly ignored because he simply cannot compete with the surrounding lunacy. On the Democratic front, Bernie will not go away and with the amazing amount of money he is raising, he has no reason to get out.

Donald may not get the first ballot nomination and, if that happens, all hell will break lose in the Republican Party. It does seem unfair for the Party to be ganging up on him but I cannot blame them because all polls show that the American people do not like him and either Clinton or Sanders will beat him. However, he has enough backing to kill the Party if he does not support the eventual nominee. If, in their insanity, the Party holds its collective nose and names Cruz, polls show him losing also. The polls show that Kasich, the forgotten man, would beat any Democrat but how can they nominate a guy who has barely shown in any of the primaries?

It is still a fairly safe bet that Hillary will win the Democratic nomination but, poll after poll shows that people do not like or trust her and that most of her supporters are none to excited by her campaign. Sanders, if beaten can cause her a world of grief if he tells his near rabid followers not to support her. Even if he gives her lukewarm support, it is unlikely his fans will turn out for her. But, the Party big shots, the 'super delegates,' will likely see to her nomination. That would be a poor move if she had any competition, but, she will probably eke out a win over either Trump or Cruz.

However, this deck has a couple of wild cards. If Trump does not win the nomination, he is very likely to be so outraged that he will either deny support to the Republican nominee or run a third party campaign, which would effectively both destroy the Republican Party and insure a Clinton win, except for the other Joker, Bernie.

It is easy to forget that Sanders is not a Democrat. He is an Independent Socialist who, in Congress, caucuses with the Democrats, and thus has no Party loyalty. Suppose he decides to run as an Independent. Why not? He has shown that he can raise the needed money, his supporters are almost sure to turn out and vote, and he might just do it. That would about destroy the Democratic Party.

So, we have the possibility of the devastation of the 2 Party system that has paralyzed National politics for far too long. There is nothing in the Constitution that limits us to 2 parties and it is about time the American people are given some new choices. The big money backers who fund the PACs must  be horrified at the thought of their cozy little arrangement being upset.

I urge every one reading this to urge every one they know to pay attention for the next few weeks. If there is a snowball's chance in hell that a 3rd or 4th Party can step in and derail the coronation of yet another shill of the Powers that Be being seated in the White House, jump on it and do every thing you can to see to it that we finally have a voice in our own Government again. We may not get the another chance any time soon. Win or lose, it would be fun to rock the boat a little.

Americans on the Edge of Survival- Those with Physical Difficulties

I may be starting to sound like a broken record but a great many of the problems of those struggling to get by these days are easily solved. Get the Government to stop spending money idiotically and direct at least some of it to programs intelligently designed to help those in need. Also, the rest of us need to practice a little basic human compassion and patience when dealing with the problems of our neighbors.

Such actions would go far toward helping those with physical difficulties. My wife and I have been together over 30 years. She is totally blind and I am losing sight in 1 eye. We help each other and, guess what? The difficulties are not that big of an issue, nor should they be in any interactions you might have with anyone with physical problems, be they deaf, blind, suffering from any of the many neuro-muscular diseases, or para- or quadriplegic.

Does it really cost you a lot to take a few minutes to help someone? Be honest. Everyone has some free time, even at work. I have supervised crews of workers and let me assure you that in any 8 hour day, it is a miracle if you get 6 hours of acual work out of anyone. At home, again being honest, much, way too much, time is spent staring at insipid TV shows. How often have you sat watching every  minute of a football game that is a 28  to 0 blowout in the first quarter, If you can waste time like that, you can spend a few minutes helping someone. Often, we spend more time complaining about what we have to do than it takes to just do it. 

In days past, in honesty, it was a bit difficult to find jobs for folks with physical difficulties, but, in this age of computers, with all the advances made, the only reason many handicapped people are not working is sheer predjudice. Can they do every job? No, but neither can I and neither can you. Let me tell you this. By not giving these folks a chance, you are missing out on some potentially talented workers and condemning them to a life of SSI, disability checks, food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid. This is degrading and demoralizing. And, if you wish to be selfish about it, just think how much money that costs you in taxes.

We are human and to reject, to shun, to hide away those who are, by no fault of their own, different is a sin. A society that rejects those with physical difficulties should be deeply ashamed.