Tag: politics

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Embracing Change: Autumn Reflections, Family Updates, and Thoughts on the Future

Glancing at the clock, I noticed it’s already 11 am Mountain Standard Time. This morning, I had the luxury of sleeping in, waking up to the delightful prospect of having a day entirely to myself. It’s been some time since I last experienced a day like this, although the thought has crossed my mind more often lately.

In the past, this weekend would have marked the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival. It’s been quite some time since I last attended—sixteen years, if I recall correctly. Nevertheless, I’ve visited Telluride twice since then, the most recent being in 2016 for a special two-night performance by Neil Young. It remains one of my favorite destinations, and I’m due for a return visit.

The reason I mention this is that autumn is upon us. The days and nights have grown cooler recently. There’s a distinct scent in the air, and the trees are starting to display their autumnal hues. There’s still a lot I need to accomplish before the cold sets in. I’m eager to go camping before the end of the year.

Recently, I had a conversation with my daughter about the significance of reading and writing. She was completing an assignment for her class, and I took the opportunity to review it and provide some feedback. It was refreshing to see her write about a topic beyond horses. Her horse, Roman, has accompanied her back to college, which means my routine visits to the stables for feeding are paused. The stables require some repairs, but there’s nothing on the agenda for this weekend. My son celebrated his birthday recently, and the week-long festivities wrapped up with a dinner at his favorite steakhouse in Santa Fe. I wish I had more opportunities to interact with them.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a long morning walk with Jewel, but not today. However, I did manage to step out this morning for a Starbucks coffee. Afterwards, I made my rounds in town, dropping off mail at the post office and paying the county utility bill by placing my envelope in the free drop-off box. With October approaching, my gas, electric, water, and sewage bills are set to increase by several dollars each month. I still adhere to writing checks and mailing payments. Yes, this means occasionally visiting the Post Office for stamps. Society has undergone significant changes with modern technology. Yet, it remains crucial, even for a hermit like myself, to venture out and engage with people. I believe the diminishing of face-to-face interactions is one of the factors driving our division in this nation.

And here is another thing that is clearly dividing us. Thinking about the next election as my phone sounds regarding yet another text message asking for donations. I have been donating this year to numerous House, Senate and the Presidential race this year. This election is just too important for the future of our country. Kamala and the Communists must be removed from power. It is that simple. If you want a nation that has a chance to provide a better future for our children. The decision is simple Yes, I am thinking about my son and daughter. It is this important.

How I long for the days of Ronald Reagan. BTW, great movie if you haven’t seen it yet.

And I do not expect it to be a clean and fair election. The democrats, with their supporters in the media, unions, and government, will be pulling out all of the stops. They aim to cheat and steal this election. Please tell me why voting has to start in some places tomorrow, a full month BEFORE election day. What checks are there in mailing a ballot? It does not require proof regarding who sent it. It also does not require proof of who filled it out. This is just wrong! Our nation is based upon one person, one vote. And before you speak, illegals do not qualify.

And the illegals are lining up. And the cemeteries are emptying their dead. They are choosing to use mail in ballots. The ballots will be sent to drop boxes. No signature or date or proof of citizenship required. alive or dead. And let us be clear. The illegals need to be rounded up, arrested and deported.

For myself, this election is simple. It is based upon my beliefs surrounding rugged individualism. You will not be taking my guns. You will not be weaponizing the government. You will not be relying on endless wars to feed your plans to destroy this republic. You will not be taking my hard-earned monies from my current and future employment. You will not be taking my hard-earned monies from my current and future investments. You will not be taking my hard-earned monies from my children! Your sick policies have increased the deficit, and you cannot solve this problem through inflation. And damn, please follow the science. We the people, are going to triumph this November and return the government BACK TO THE PEOPLE.

Closer to home, I have noticed a change in myself. Actually, I have been noticing it very much of late. And it is a change for the better. I am spending more time on myself, less time for work and other things. I think it is clear that I am getting close to a retirement date. I am only working my defined hours, and not working longer for nothing. The laboratory had an opportunity to correct its past injustices towards me but chose to not to do so. I am done giving. I am thinking about what comes next for myself.

To that end, I am reading more in the evenings. I now actually spend more time in the morning reading my online subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I have subscribed to Substack. I have found some very interesting reading there. I’m nearly prepared to sever the cable TV connection and exclusively stream the content I wish to view. It’s all about saving money and advancing things that I want and need. Many books go unread from my travels. I am enjoying music once again. I dusted off that old acoustic guitar and bought a how to play the guitar book. And I have been working on more posts for this blog. Let’s hope that I can follow through and post.

Well, I think I’ll end it here for this post. I should have posted this about an hour ago, but I have been playing with the AI features available. I have some housecleaning to do, stuff to read. Preparations for the week ahead, etc, etc, etc. Until next time. God bless.

Categories
life Uncategorized

A Return from the Unknown

When I logged in this morning, I was shocked to see that my last post was on October 15, 2023. There I said that there has been change in my life. But as I start typing this post, it has been about eight months since I last updated the world on my comings and goings.

It was the Rush drummer Neil Peart who said that “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. However, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The More Things Change may refer to:

The internet cannot even provide a clear answer as I was able to find many articles on the phrase, whether it is in English, or in French. I still attribute my introduction to the phrase from the song “Circumstances” by Rush, since they sang the words in both English and French.

Today is early May. I have been up for awhile and went to the stables early to get ready for the return of Roman. After a semester at college with my daughter, he , and she, is coming home for the summer. I think the horse has been goof for my daughter to help her navigate the emotional ups and downs of college but we will see how she handled the coursework.

Son has about another month of high school. This year has been better with less absences, less bullying, but also less focus on the work. I am concerned as to what summer will bring for him. We shall see, but I hope that we can spend more time outdoors than in years past.

As for I, I continue to work but contemplate retirement multiple times a day. After all, it has been over 33 years, and I recently celebrated the 34th anniversary of turning 29 years old. That which was great about working at Los Alamos is no more. And it has been broken for a number of years. It has, in my opinion, become poorly managed in so many ways. It is not sustainable.

As summer comes, I see two planned outings in which I will cross paths with Pearl Jam. Vacation travel is planned as part of these outings and perhaps represent a view of my post retirement gig. Aside from some weekend hiking and car camping, working to rebuild the stables will be much of my effort.

Perhaps a few other trips are in the offing, as I see how the year will round itself out. And I see that we have an election in the fall. Our nation cannot stand another 4 weeks, let alone, another four years of Joe Biden. He and the rest of the democrats in government should be impeached, imprisoned and tried for treason against the constitution. The left are destroying our nation that so many have fought and died for, and that others continue to see as a better place.

However, I am not sure who I can vote for as the other side of the equation is not much better. And the other parties offer more of the old. Lock and load as the nation is falling apart. Looks like we will have another summer of lawlessness and protests that lack a proper moral direction.

Until next time, and lets hope that it isn’t as long as this time.

Categories
the week in review

Today is the 4th of July?

Today is the 4th of July. A federal holiday that is to signify the birthday of our nation. Jewel and I have been up now for several hours. We went to get some coffee but ended up at the stables to feed the horses. Roman and Ruby were up and hungry. They let me know just how hungry they were.

I have the day off. Unfortunately, some people do not. I thank them for brewing a most excellent cup of coffee that a gas station can produce. It is dark, It is hot and full of deep flavor that is making my start of this day better than I could have predicted.

Of course, daughter slept in but eventually showed up. Note that I too slept in, if you call sleeping until 6 am sleeping in…

We managed to get some new hay delivered yesterday and so I needed her to help to guide me through the feed. We needed to mix the old hay with the new hay. Horses are very finicky as far diet is concerned. The new hay was the same as the old hay, an Orchard/Timothy Grass mix that we purchased late last fall. This new hay just appears to have more brome grass hay than usual. Gladly, there is no alfalfa in it. We worry about alfalfa in the diet for both horses since they have coliced on it in the past.

Hay has been difficult to get recently, in part because of the dry conditions here in the west. However, there has been much rain and lots of snow still in the mountains of Colorado. There is hope that the drought has decreased and the forest fire season this summer will not be as bad as last year.

In my last post, I wrote about the fence project that I embarked on. So, an update is in order. The posts were put in place, and I have been slowly placing the cross pieces of the fence. For Roman’s portion of the new fence, I am putting three boards across to make it sturdier. After all, he is a big and very strong animal. I have finally purchased everything necessary to finish the fence. I just need time to work on it.

As I said, I am not finished. Still much to do. But it is very hot, and the sun above can drain the body of energy quickly. Water, and suntan lotion only go so far. I realize that I am no longer a spry youngster. After all, at age 62, I still have about 31 years left to live.

My daughter and Roman just returned from the Coconinio Horse Trials even in Flagstaff. She was very happy with their performance with this being his second event. To quote Madison, she at least finished. That means she stayed on the horse for all three events and placed a respectable 12th. If she is happy, then I am happy.

I, of course stayed home and fed Ruby, who also was very helpful when I was working on the fence. And of course, son helped some and was justly rewarded with more ROBUX to fill his video game appetite. It is July and he has not started on any of the summer projects that I dreamed up for him.

Today is the 4th of July. I noticed this year that there are many more flags being displayed than in years past. Some of this, I believe is that there have been many people moving in and out of Los Alamos. More and more of them served in the military. People becoming more patriotic? People becoming prouder to be American’s? To show their love of country? I recently read a new poll suggesting that this was NOT the case. I believe that seeing all of the insanity on TV indicates that we are more bifurcated than in years past. I blame it on the educational system in this country that is in decline. We need to fix it before it is too late.

Our country is having problems, but we have risen to the challenges in the past. To overcome, to move forward. Our better days are and will be ahead of us. I strongly believe that the other options out there are JUST PLAIN WRONG. I hope that sanity, sensibility and law and order will return soon. Sadly, too many people today just want everything handed to them. They were mistreated in the past and deserve everything for free. Hard work, is, has been and always will be what is required to advance in this world.

Today is the 4th of July. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”

Lots of noise from the left about the rulings from the Supreme Court earlier this week. They are entitled to their opinions even though I do not agree with them. I am glad that one of the branches of government can still read and understand the words in the Constitution. If you borrow money, then pay it back. Don’t like the terms of the loan, then don’t borrow the money.

Race should not be used to decide who gets into college. Reward diversity based on the merits of the person and not the color of their skin. Often you will find that will truly provide greater diversity. And letting a person have their own opinions that do not agree with a prevailing attitude and allowing that person to exercise their own free speech is not a blow to LGBTQ rights. It reinforces one of the rights of all Americans in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As such, the meaning of today, this national holiday, lives on for another year, outside the decay of the moral fabric that is destroying our society, our way of life.

Pictures of the Declaration of Independence – Stone Engraving
This is a picture of the original Declaration of Independence. You can view it today in person in the Rotunda of the National Archives building in Washington D.C. Notice that the original Declaration is very worn and faded.

Just because the words of the original document are faded does not mean that their meanings are faded in any way. What was true over 200 years ago, still holds true today.

Well, that covers the view of my world since my last posting. With that, another week, maybe two (or three) have passed. I will return to work tomorrow, more frustrated than ever in terms of trying to do what I am paid to do. Until then, have a safe and happy 4th of July. Hope that there are lots of fireworks tonight, hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad, and that people are mindful of and respectful towards others. If we could just start with the simple things in this world. Until next time.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Tis a Saturday ramble on just about everything.

Good morning, everyone. I have been awake now for a couple of hours. Managed to get out and get my usual breakfast, a Chili Work burrito. I typically alternate between the Classic or the Jolly. A Classic is bacon, green with cheese whereas the Jolly is sausage, green with cheese. Eggs, potato and tortilla are a given. Yum. Of course, everyone should understand that green means green chili. You can get you burrito either as green, which is my favorite, red chili, no chili or even Christmas. Christmas is green and red. New Mexico is known for its chili.

Christmas shopping is almost complete. So, this weekend I will clean around the house and probably put up the Christmas tree. Like most Americans, given the poor economy with inflation out of control, I have limited what I am spending for gifts this year. Lacking snow on the ground, but cold weather, it isn’t very conducive to being in the Christmas spirit. Daughter is easy to shop for in terms of gifts. For her, it is things for the horse, or for her on the horse. Conversely, for son, he is harder to shop for. Video games is a given although I try to get him interested in other things.

I have been recovering from a stomach bug over the past few days. Not the flu, and not COVID. Could be my diet of late, or it could be work-related stress. I am not really sure. Trying to improve my diet. Have good days, and then not so good days. Applies to diet, and also for managing the work stress. Noting that my 32nd anniversary of work will soon be upon me, I have to wonder if I need to be done.

Getting e-mails from government health officials about the need to get a COVID booster. Yet, I had the original plus booster, and got COVID anyway. It is difficult to find some unopinionated science on the virus and so what to do next is difficult to decide. Having had COVID suggests that natural immunity would be ideal, yet I know people who have had COVID multiple times and so one has to question how far natural immunity will take you.

As I compose this post, the news is in the background. Topics being discussed cover many topics. From the broken border and increasing number of illegals crossing it daily, the prisoner swap with Russia, upcoming bowl games, the “Twitter files” and the suppression of free speech, politics, the economy, and America in decline.

And so, I will comment on all of those topics as I finish todays post. The border is broken. We need a wall. All of the illegals who have arrived need to be arrested and returned.

Drugs are coming over the border and it is our citizens who are dying. The precursors for those drugs originate in China. It is not in their interest to stop the exports of these materials. This is an undeclared war on our people and our way of life.

We are a nation of laws and if our government cannot enforce the basic laws, then it is time to get a new government. Impeachment is a just and prudent response to what has happened over the past two years.

The thought of a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State in the championship game is something to ponder, but I am not counting on it.

The “Twitter files” clearly show what we understood for a while. Twitter suppressed free speech based on the ideological bend of those who worked there. And of course, the fact that the Biden administration was involved should not surprise anyone. The Biden crime family and his administration is a cancer on our way of life. His administration is a disgrace; they are against the citizens of this nation and need to be removed from office.

Lastly, our economy is heading towards a recession as prices continue to go up. I expect it to be long and painful because the previous methods to manage economic decline simply will not work. Our government needs to get our house in order and stop giving away trillions of dollars based on policies that are not in the best interest of the people, the nation or the world. Nothing will put the country into greater decline faster than the economic decline, the educational decline, the decline in our standard of living, and the lack of lawlessness that we are seeing on a daily basis. Biden, like Obama before him, have been in office for a decade. Yet our budget deficit sits at $31 trillion dollars. In other words, these two men, in ten years, have managed contribute to half the national debt. And they have made our country worse, not better.

Expect me to cover these and other topics in future postings as 2022 comes to and end and we enter 2023. It is shameful that we are leaving this country in worse shape, on a path for war, famine, lower life expectancies and economic morass. Based on the results of the last election, we need to educate the electorate before it is too late, if it is possible. Or maybe the electorate wants to live in this type of cesspool. I don’t!

Categories
ramblings of a madman

America, elections, Facebook

I was reading several blogs this morning on the subject of social media and the upcoming election. I enjoy reading essays, and books on politics, political science, the histories of famous politicians, our Founding Fathers. And so I write this post under the backdrop that I was just banned from posting for 30 days on Facebook because I wrote something that went against their “community standards”. I find their “community standards” are based on opinions and that if you fail to lean to the left, your opinion on their site will be silenced or controlled. Banned in the name of “community standards”.

My screenshot from Facebook. BTW, I posted this on my Facebook page and they removed it, stating that the content isn’t available right now because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it’s been deleted. I did not delete it…

It is here where I would go off on a diatribe about political correctness and “I know it when I see it”.

I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_it_when_I_see_it

Not to be outdone, but the expression, famously used to describe obscenity, can be used for the characterization of so much more…

I know. You are wondering what I was banned for? Well this banning was for a comment that I made on a FaceBook posting of the seven candidates who are running as Democrats for the 3rd Congressional District of New Mexico. My comment to the posting was “You would have to be stupid to vote for Plame”. She is clearly the Democratic establishment’s candidate, an outsider. My opinion. Outsiders are sending lots of money to her campaign to elect another Pelosi bot who doesn’t care about helping the people of this state. My opinion. We had one for over 10 years and he is now running for the Senate. My opinion. She does not share my views on much of anything. I am not alone in that opinion. Your can read for yourself here (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/us/valerie-plame-new-mexico-congress.html). In my opinion, FaceBook is trying to control free speech and to hell with your own personal opinions.

It is May and I am now banned for 30 days. To be banned means that you cannot comment, post a like or smiley emoji, or post pictures on your feed. You can only look at the feed they direct towards you. The same thing happened to me last year, although I think it took me longer to be banned. I don’t consider what I said was demeaning, and I cannot even remember what the first offense was for 2020 that got me banned for 3 days. The second reason for being banned was just as stupid, which got me banned for 7 days. Now it is 30 days. Did somebody complain because I inferred that they were stupid? I don’t know. Suffice it to say, they control the medium and if you don’t conform to their wishes, their thinking, you pay the price. It is clear to me that they have been silencing fact from fiction, truth and opinion to their way of thinking. You don’t agree with us, you must conform to our community standards. Whatever happened to decency, fair play, truth, justice, the American way! I always find myself looking for the place where I can send an e-mail to the judge so they can tell me my crime, to try to argue why their decision is wrong. I always think ahead when I hit send, knowing that “yea, I’m going to get in trouble for that posting…” The last two have completely blown my mind in terms of what was wrong with what I said. In the last two examples, I did not think that I was going to be banned, Imagine my disdain and anger resulting from the situation. Whatever it was, it went against their “community standards”. The conspiracy theorist in me always goes into overdrive. Many people, absent an understanding of what was wrong, head in that direction. In the end, I chalk it up to too many marshmallows in the world who cannot take anything that is negative. Lest I forget, the employees of Facebook come from the generation that received participation trophies or were educated and graded on the curve. Our opinions must be checked against emotion.

So maybe it is a good thing that I am banned from Facebook for 30 days. I get so angry after reading some of the stories that people post as news. I can see where we have become so divided on so many issues. It isn’t just Facebook that gets me angry, I get that way after actually reading real news, whether it is the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal. Don’t get me started about CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC, Fox News, etc. Lots of the journalism that these organizations once practiced has been lost in the era of political correctness. Some of what I see there goes against my community standards but it never gets banned or blocked. Some of the memes, on both sides of the political spectrum are just so caustic. Not sure if they are created by Russian trolls, Russian bots, or people who actually have a sick or very dark sense of humor. They no longer report news and the story. It is filtered by the opinion of the reporter, or the broadcaster. They never get to the story because it is overtaken by conjecture and opinion, never slanted by the facts, or digging for the truth.

Anyway, I can calm down and spend more time writing on my blog.

There is lots of chaos this election season. Between the coronavirus / COVID19, stay-at-home-restrictions, the phased return to normalcy plans, an economy that went from stellar to depression in a matter of months, this is clearly an important election. I expect to write more as we get close to November on the subject of the election.

With much interest, I read the posting from Krista Stevens entitled “From Russia, With Malice” (https://longreads.com/2020/05/12/from-russia-with-malice/). I would characterize the post as an essay of a larger work by Franklin Foer in The Atlantic on the idea that Russia want to eradicate democracy (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/putin-american-democracy/610570/), and they’re doing a fine job of it.

The problem, which plays right into the hands of the Russians, is that the United States is already too divided to do much about it. Those are their ideas. They are not my ideas. That said, I must agree with them. My idea would that be no matter how divided we are, I think we would all agree that our democracy is under attack. Our way of life is under attack. And it is from a number of places. Whether it is Russia, China, Iran, or even within our own country. The basic freedoms that we Americans hold dear are under attack. Within our own country, I lump Facebook, Twitter and Google into the group that is attacking our democracy. I have read many articles where the three social media companies have restricted information, free speech and opinion. Case in point, see above for Facebook. And while I agree that hate speech, racism, evil, pornography and words that incite riots or endanger people should be controlled, people are educated to make up their own minds and opinions about what is before us. Not government, not corporations. Are we not smart enough to think for ourselves? When did protecting our privacy, which they could do more on, become protecting what we think and say? Probably because they cannot make money off of my opinions.

Of course, the left will blame Trump. The right will blame Democrats who push for socialism. The outsiders will sow discontent on all of the above, pushing stories to fan the flames of either opinion. Facebook will tout it’s “community standards”. We have lost our will to “agree to disagree”. My opinion may be that your political position is “stupid” and if that offends you, so be it. That was not my intent. I am not trying to sow discord, only debate. It is my opinion and “stupid” is probably your opinion towards me. I’m OK with that. I accept that. Political correctness has reached a new level. We have lost our ability to accept the opinion of others and go out of our way to attach those opinions, and the persons who espouse those opinions. One’s political opinion becomes disinformation for another.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

The Tree of Liberty

As I filter through my daily FaceBook feed, I often find articles or comments from readers about a famous quote of Thomas Jefferson. The quote is often associated with an article about gun control. The quote is “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots.“ I find it to be a great quote and clearly it is used by those who favor the 2nd amendment to comment about those who are against it. It is often suggestive of foreshadowing of a new American Civil War in some writings. Some people take their guns, and the rights guaranteed by the 2nd amendment, very seriously. Pretty sure that is not how Jefferson meant it, or that many of modern politicians who quote it, place it in the correct context.

Never really thought about the meaning behind the quote. I like it. It is adequate because I also think the 2nd amendment does not allow the government to infringe upon our rights to have guns, to bare arms. That said, I think that there can be some restrictions. I do not need to own an F15 with sidewinder missiles. That said, I understand that Joe Biden plans to send F15’s with bombs and missiles to take my guns away if elected. Not gonna happen! And to be honest, I wish all cars were equipped with sidewinder missiles to allow me to control my road rage by just simply removing bad drivers on the road.

Today’s post is my first in 2020. I have been very negligent about writing in the new year. Funk and frustration still abound me each and every day. Most of my writing and reading of late has been work related. Doubt they will ever get posted here. OK, maybe one, but we shall save that for another time. This first post of 2020 is not about guns, whether you are for or against. Yes, it probably is something about politics, but I’m not going to say “Go Trump” or “let’s burn Bernie”. I’ll save those for another time too.

Tonight, I came home from work, having experienced what was a bad day to a totally unproductive week. On my Facebook page, I posted the following:

It wasn’t the post that got me thinking about the Jefferson quote. It was what I did next…

https://jeffersonsbourbon.com/jeffersons-very-small-batch

Yes. After a long and stressful day at the end of a long and stressful week, I poured myself some bourbon. Just one. No more than two fingers. Over a little ice. Tasted great as I pondered the day and made dinner for myself and the kids. The bottle has Thomas Jefferson on the back. That is what got me thinking about the Jefferson quote. And not so much about the quote, but where did it come from? What did it mean?

I actually have a nice book collection and one of my books is a collection of Writings by Thomas Jefferson. It took awhile, but I was able to find that the quote is embedded in a letter written to William Smith in 1787 about the New Constitution and to “endeavor to shew civilities to all the Americans who come here…” Jefferson was in Paris in 1787, trying to negotiate new commerce treaties between European countries and our young republic. Smith we come to understand is the son-in-law of John Adams. The letter then goes on to talk about the “lies about our being in anarchy”. It then briefly covers Massachusetts and the rebellion, the forerunner of death to the public liberty and what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit or resistance?

Paris Nov. 13. 1787. Extract from Thomas Jefferson letter to William Stephens Smith
The New Constitution

…the people can not be all, & always, well informed. the part which is wrong [. . .] will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. if they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. we have had 13 states independant 11 years. there has been one rebellion. that comes to one rebellion in a century & a half for each state. what country before ever existed a century & half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. the remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. what signify a few lives lost in a century or two? the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. it is it’s natural manure…

It ends with a discussion of the new Constitution. That new constitution was the Articles of Confederation. Jefferson did not like the Articles, based upon other readings, his letter to Smith was to declare his opposition to the governmental structure that the Articles created. State’s power over the federal government. The Articles were drafted by James Madison. The rebellion that he speaks of is not the American Revolution. Rather it is the Shay’s Rebellion, an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. We find out that the problems of a weak national government eventually led to the end of the Articles of Confederation and led to a Constitutional Convention.

We also find through other readings that Madison and Jefferson were friends. Madison was the major architect of this new Constitution (influenced by Jefferson); Madison is the father of the Bill of Rights, and one of the strongest proponents of the rights of religious liberty in America; the co-author of The Federalist and a founder of the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1790s. This party later evolved into the modern Democratic Party, but more resembles today’s Republican Party. This is because both Jefferson and Madison favored a limited role for government.

The Constitution of the United States

Natural manure. It ties nicely with Ruby, our horse. From guns, to a crappy day, to drinking some good bourbon, to a history lesson. What a great way to start my new year with a new posting on TheMcKeeSpot. Many themes developed here, all worthy of more detail in a later posting.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Divorce, debt, and diatribe

It’s that time of the month where I sit down to pay the bills and track my budget and figure out financially where I am going in the coming year. Before my divorce, I was very frugal. No credit card balances to speak of. No outstanding debts except a mortgage. It was save, save, save. Emergency fund. Savings for college for the kids. Check. Savings for a beach house. Yep, it’s what the family wanted. Savings for retirement. Planned to work to age 52. Everything was on track.

See the source image

Then it came all crashing down. I managed to keep my retirement account untouched in our amicable, negotiated settlement. But I managed to pick up massive debt. Rent became a new mortgage. Child support became half of my paycheck and yet I had the kids half of the time. A personal loan to cover expenses incurred during my divorce. Lost significant savings. My doldrums that I encountered during the divorce were handled by some extravagant spending on trips, on stuff, on junk. No control. No problem, just charge it. New furniture for a house. Buy whatever the kids wanted. LEGO’s and horse things, fish and birds and guinea pigs. Exercise equipment to better myself. Books to read, learn to play the guitar, eat better food, drink better wine. Bourbon and scotch. Hobbies. I literally found myself in debt.

Now, as I stand on the precipice of retirement, I find myself still digging myself our of that debt. Granted, I am probably better off than most Americans. A good paying job. A 401k and pension for retirement. A roof over my head. Not living paycheck to paycheck. Yet there it is. DEBT.

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So here I am this Sunday morning after Thanksgiving, paying my bills. No, I am not thankful for that debt. I am thankful that I can manage it. Started looking at the interest rates that are charged for monthly balances. My Chase Freedom Card carries an interest rate of 13.99%. They calculate it by taking the prime rate and then add their costs on top. The Wall Street Journal carries the prime rate, which is currently listed at 5.25%. From the internet, I learned that the prime interest rate, or prime lending rate, is largely determined by the federal funds rate, which is the overnight rate that banks use to lend to one another. Also, it is stated that the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee, which is comprised of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks) has voted to lower the. target range for the fed funds rate to 2.00% – 2.25%.

So JP Morgan Chase charges me 8.74% to use their money when I charge something to my credit card and then carry a balance. Wow! My local bank pays me 0.10% for what I save in my savings account, and less for my checking account. It’s much worse when I look at my American Express Delta SkyMiles card. There the rate is 21.99%. A whopping 16.74% to use their money. It was my Amex card that just started me on this rant this morning. My annual fee was being increased to $99 a year. That’s $99 just to carry the card, get some frequent flyer miles if I use it. All of this for the luxury to not pay to travel with one bag on an airline. Not really sure if it is worth. I think that I can leave home without it.

Why so much for using their money? Well, the are a business. They need to make a profit. They have millions of credit cards in use. They get paid every time I use their card. And if I carry a balance, they get paid again by charging me interest. By my math, that is between 8 and 16%. Sweet if you can get it for your savings account. Some people pay them off every month. Some do not. Some incur large debts and then just don’t pay them. Guess that means that those of us who honor our debts are also paying for theirs. Why should I pay for someone else? I have my family to keep.

As a business, they have shareholders, including myself. I like my stock price to go up, my dividends to increase. After all, I need my 401k to cover me when I retire. They have employees who have families just like me. They have CEO’s who make ridiculously large salaries. I am not picking on Jamie Dimon; he certainly works hard for his money and has added value to his company. JP Morgan made $31,500,000,000 profit in 2018. Jamie Dimon got a 5% raise in 2018, and made a salary of $31,000,000. Now if you were like me, my raise was less than 2%. No bonus, no stocks, no performance-based variable incentive compensation. Jamie’s salary was a base salary of $1.5 million and a “performance-based variable incentive compensation” of $29.5 million, split as $5 million of that in cash, and $24.5 million in the form of “performance share units”, a fancy word for extra shares of stock. I could not find how much Jamie personally donated to charity in 2018, but I know JP Morgan Chase donated millions.

I don’t necessarily begrudge Mr Dimon for his money. There are others who do, like Elizabeth Warren. She is running for President. She has a plan, and as near as I can tell, a tax for everything. She wants to expand government into everything. In 2018, Warren made about $325,000 from book sales in addition to her $175,000 salary from the Senate. Her husband was paid about $400,000 from Harvard. Explains why it is so expensive to go to college. The couple paid about $46,000 last year for a solar energy installation on their home in Massachusetts, and received about $15,000 in tax credits, and they donated more than $50,000 to charity. All told, the Warren’s paid more than $200,000 in taxes on about $900,000 in income last year, based on their tax returns. By my math, they made about $100,000 on investment income. Don’t worry, Joe Biden did better. Can’t say that about Donald Trump. Yet we know that he took no salary and did not release his tax returns.

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So as it is now 24 shopping days before Christmas, it’s time to go shopping. No iPhone 11 for me or the kids, the iPhone 6 works just fine. No trip to someplace warm for the holidays. It’s currently 22 and with snow on the ground. No Black Friday. No Cyber Monday for me. Just gather up my kids lists and then off we go. Soon we will have another Star Wars movie in the theaters. Then it will be tax time and another election.

Categories
the week in review

Sunday ramblings

Today is Sunday August 4. Spent the better part of the past 3 days contemplate my future. In the background is the Fox News broadcast “Life, Liberty & Levin”. I seldom watch the news on TV, but there wasn’t anything else worth watching. The platform is a question and answer session, which is better than many of the talking heads from both sides of the political spectrum. The subject is a discussion about the second Cold War with Niall Ferguson. It entails an economic war as opposed to a military conflict, but that the long view is that China will win because they take a long-term view and that our political system will rive change and we will loose site on the long term. Interesting conversation. I have long found that the interface between economics and history/politics interesting. If I had been smarter, perhaps I could have made a career in the field.

Daughter leaves for the US Pony Club National Championships central region. The competition is in Colorado this year, which is a 6 hour trip near Denver. Son and I will stay home to keep the stress down. I wish her luck in all of the events that she is competing in. Hopefully she will remain n the horse and finish. Both she and Ruby have been practicing hard the past several weeks. She will be competing in show jumping and eventing.

Friday I managed to visit with my financial guy to review my status on the path towards retirement. While I am on tract, I have a few areas to clean up. The discussion covered numerous areas beyond just focusing on 401k balances, debt, and what I plan to do after retirement. Of course, plans are always subject to change. Given the current political climate, I am concerned that much could change and destroy my plans and my future.

Then of course, we had another weekend of a lone gunmen and mass killings. I am pro gun and believe that guns don’t kill people, rather people kill people. That said, I have no problems with background checks, licenses and insurance much like one has for an automobile, keeping automatic guns out of the hands of people, and mental health. You need to keep guns out of the hands of some people. The issue then becomes how. You also need to acknowledge that if people want to harm others, they will. I get a check up annually as far as my mental health as required for my job and my employer. Sadly, I am afraid that the increases in gun killings recently has more to do with the declines in our society and it’s values, the fact that we continue to lesson the value of human life. This is in opposition to those who subscribe to a theory that the increase is associated with the number of guns available.

There is much hate these days, and it surfaces on social media often. Politically, we are divided as a nation and it shows in many areas. I will have more to say about these topics as we continue on the journey of this blog.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Politics…take 2

Started writing an entry about politics three days ago. That is why I have titled this entry as take 2. Didn’t publish the original entry because it needs work.

Coming up are two days of Democratic Party debates. I won’t be watching. Frankly I am tired of all the talking heads and candidates. They have no values. Fox News is on in the background as I write this, and they are harping on the dark state and the crimes not being investigated by the House and Senate. Not really listening because they are equally disappointing. Instead we have an investigation on Russian collusion round 2. There was none. Get a grip and move on. People are literally dying because of all of the inaction by our elected officials focused on non-issues.

America was at one time a better place. Compromise was the norm and America was better off in solving issues. Nobody got everything they wanted and this is good. It is now going down the toilet rapidly. The press are no longer independent. They are letting their opinions become the news.

Understand that I am not a fan of Trump. He is a disgusting human being and fails to carry himself in the stature that the office deserves. In the last election, I voted for Gary Johnson. He was a great two-term governor for the state of New Mexico. That said, I can get behind a number of the policies that Trump tries to enact. I wish he would stop Tweeting. If he wants to get his point out, go to the Press Room daily and say it. Take the heat, be a man, and get on with it. That’s is leadership.

Conversely, the democrats have an understanding of the issues that concerns many Americans. They are so irresponsible in helping the average citizen because they don’t view it as important. However, their policy remedies will not fix the problems. Instead they will exasperate the problems. As the Federal Government has turned up the spigot to support education and health care, the costs continue to go up. The backstop of the Federal Government and the unlimited printing press will make sure this will continue. You doubt the connection? Just look at housing and those issues. Two NGO’s are essential in the ability of many to get a mortgage. They contributed to the Great Recession. People and families were ruined.

I’m sorry but allowing them to forgo paying back the money is wrong. Do they loose their degrees? I borrowed money for College. I paid my own way through school. I worked my way through school. I had student loans and paid them off over time when I had found a job. Yes I have health insurance and have seen how families struggle to solve those financial issues. The fix to healthcare costs is not a Medicare-for-all solution. It is to get away from treatment (drugs) and spend more on prevention. An annual physical, check up, tests are the way to reduce the costs when something is found early instead of when it is too late, or too expensive to cure. And it’s not just your physical health. Many of the tragedies we see on the news may have never happened if we expanded mental health care.

Sadly, I expect that next year will have a reversal followed by four more years of the same. Nothing will be accomplished, nothing will change. Our elected officials are unwilling (unable) to do what is necessary to help the American people. Stay tuned. More to follow.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Ramble On

I was thinking that today I could sleep in and have a relaxing weekend. Did not happen. Awake at my usual time. Start today off early and right. Ain’t going to happen. Son is sound asleep. Dog is typical crazy… ”where is my morning walk”? Daughter has a riding competition today and as usual, up late rushing to prepare, now tired and grumpy. “Do you have my show shirt”? “It was in my dirty clothes basket”. “ The white one that is stained and dirtied”? On and on. Ding goes the phone as she texts me from her mothers house.

Yesterday was flag day. I didn’t hang my flag. Why? Too busy running around? Work, school camp for son, old age, tired? Realized that yesterday was the first day in four weeks that I did not write. Not because I forgot, or didn’t have anything to write about. I guess it was the understanding that only one person visited my blog yesterday. Should I worry that only one person visited? Subjects boring? Maybe. Slow day? Better things on line to read? Probably. Not really advertising that it is out there, bearing my sole for all to read, to laugh, to comment on. Dammit I paid money for this site and the experience, and have made the commitment to see where it takes us.

Leaves are falling all around
It’s time I was on my way
Thanks to you I’m much obliged
For such a pleasant stay
But now it’s time for me to go
The autumn moon lights my way
For now I smell the rain
And with it pain
And it’s headed my way
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired
But I know I’ve got one thing I got to do
Ramble on
And now’s the time, the time is now
To sing my song
I’m goin’ ’round the world, I got to find my girl
On my way
I’ve been this way ten years to the day
Ramble on
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams...

from Ramble On by Led Zeppelin as determined from a Google search. It is important to acknowledge the words and ideas of others. In the internet age, I am not sure how this is best accomplished. Probably not as simple as a reference in a journal article. Add that to my list of things I need to learn to keep me out of trouble.

Yet as I sit here and type away, sounds of Led Zeppelin ‘s “Ramble On” are running through my head. Literally and figuratively. Maybe my blog is more of a journal and I am trying to capture my life’s experiences in it. The past, the present, the future? Something for posterity when I’m gone and my young kids have something to remember me by? Earlier this week in the morning coffee cabal, we were in fact talking about “here today, gone tomorrow”. However the subject included former managers at work, one hit wonders in the music industry, and other things. Including our own immortality, which quickly transitioned into “why are we here, what mark will we leave on the next generation of employees that we have hired”? Are we renaissance men or renegades? Probably more like geeks.

Sorry. Took a break to get clothes out of the washing machine. Wow! How many pants does my daughter need for riding? Why is the dog going crazy? Yes, I am composing this on real time, on the fly. Sun is up, dog still wants walk. Now going through my head is that image of putting the needle of a record player on a record, no not Led Zeppelin II, and the screech of the needle just going across the record. That sound of I just ruined the vinyl album.

Subject, subject, subject… for now, this is a blog. As time progresses, I expect it to morph into a website with a blog at its center. But that, I am sure is farther down the road. Opinion, commentary, the daily story, things rambling on in my head? Life as a single dad? Retirement? Investing? Hobbies? Kinda rehashing similar topics in my earlier post “My story, or is it?”.

I have given some thought about writing the Sunday post as a weekly wrap up of the past weeks writings, or a summary of what happened the past week. Could go on for hours about politics, news, world and local events. However, I think those topics turn most people off. I enjoy them and like talking about them. Like I could go on and on about the twenty four libtards running for President, or our current President who certainly has broken the mold but is really unpresidential in his behavior, and actions, and such. Government is suppose to help us solve our problems, not be the problem. Unfortunately, both sides of the aisle are the problem. The spirit of compromise that is necessary for democracy is dead. Is democracy dead in America?

Son bellows out his breakfast wishes. Dog wants in. The dog wants out. That’s my queue to end it here, edit and post. Until next time, “ramble on”.