Some things I just need to say on a Tuesday morning

Earth date 21 July 2026

The clock is banging on 10 a.m. The 3rd cup of decaf is half done (can't have caffeine anymore).

This is gonna be a long one.

BA

Talked to BA yesterday. I have spoken with him a serious lot since Sunday.

Hoping he got some sleep last night. He is a man on the ragged edge and, literally, is considering the final solution.

I ain't talking him out of it. I ain't talking him into it. That is his decision. I shall support whatever he decides. I am not nor will I accept being in charge of his life and the manner and timing of ending it. An exception is if he is on life support and he specifically tells me not to let him linger. I will pull the plug.

LARA

I have no idea when L and I first met. I knew her before she met BA. She told me she was moving from NYC to Texas to be his slave. A slave, yes, in the literal sense of the word. I figured I would never hear from her again. Indeed, it was a while before I heard from her again. She called, at BA's instruction.

They moved to Alaska, first to the bush on the northern side of the state. Then down to the southeast side near the Aleutians.

Yeah. I planned to visit them. Never did. Never will.

The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.

BA told he moved to Alaska for her. She always wanted to live there. I think it suited both of 'em.

SUNDAY

Sunday, around 10 am or so, phone rings. It is them. I figure it was L checking in. She did that frequently. Am sure you know where this going.

BA spoke. With the first word from his mouth the world sent sideways.

She was groggy and lethargic that night. Sunday morning, she would not wake. He gathered her into his arms to put her in his truck to go to the ER.

On the porch, she went limp.

"The paramedics are doing compressions on her now," he said, panic obvious in his voice, on that first phone call.

I knew it was over. I did not say it. BA had enough to deal with. As an RN for decades, I am equally certain he knew, but like all of us, he demanded reality adapt to him.

More than that, on Saturday, I started having feelings that are not me, do not apply to me and are simply foreign to me. What feelings? A terminal end to matters.

Now, I know. L was dying and was sending me a message.

Days prior to Sunday, for reasons I now understand, I had a compulsion to start prepping to bring L from Alaska to Georgia live. Now I realize I had it backward. It was BA I was prepping for. Still am right now, with his cooperation.

You may discount this as Woo Factor. Don't care. As soon as SCIENCE can explain things and get it right, I'll give it the credence it deserves. You ain't me and I ain't you. Nuf said.

L died in his arms. That is exactly what she wanted, to be held close by the man who was her world. At the same time, she knew this would go far beyond wrecking him. We talked about this extensively. I assured her, I'd be there for BA, even if it meant a trip to Alaska.

I am there for him as much as I can be and as much as he will let me. Over the past 2 days, we have talked more, many times more, than he and I spoke in the 18 years I have known him.

It is good.

CRUSHED

I have never seen a person so crushed, devastated and ruined.

In one of our talks over the past 2 days, BA said, "I have never loved anything or anyone. My parents died, no tears. My brother and sister died. I was all right. Now, I cannot stop crying. Hell, I am almost a sociopath."

With those words I remembered something L told me years ago. Even the most despotic, cruel and tyrannical human being has limits. Example: Someone who delights in torturing a human to death could be the kindest person to a dog and would react with unimaginable fury to someone who mistreated a dog.

I am also certain BA wishes he could retreat back into the hardened fortress of self he once occupied.

He has, more than once, said he is ready to end it. Discussed that already.

I add that if he opts for the final solution, I want him let me know so I can send someone to collect his remains. Waiting to be discovered is not fair to those who do the finding.

He has not chosen that option, yet, because of Max, their dog. Max, as you might expect, is grieving in his own way. Max is a lifeline BA is desperately holding to.

I am certain if BA could find a good home for Max, BA would leave this existence.

NO HELP THERE

As is common in such times, BA turned to a place that should provide solace. Instead, he got rejection. No help there.

BA is a former devout Christian. He turned atheist. L was born and raised Jewish. She too became an atheist. Over the past few years, she started praying, not for herself, but for me.

Sunday morning, after L was carried to the morgue, BA got in his truck and started driving. Just driving. Aimless wandering. He stopped in the Soldotna Baptist Church parking lot.

Folks in the church sent an armed guard out to him.

I wish I could say I was surprised. More in a moment.

After realizing he was not a threat, a deacon invited him into the church. Coffee was served.

They spoke for a few minutes. The deacon said they had to leave as the youth group was coming in to listen to music.

"Thanks for the coffee," BA later recounted to me, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

NO SURPRISE

Really, no surprise there. I have Southern Baptist relatives who are convinced I am hell-bound because I was baptized Catholic. I am not Catholic now, more in a moment. I am now a co-pastor of a bilingual independent pentecostal church; the relatives are of the same opinion regarding my fate.

"Southern Baptists. They believe they will be the only ones in heaven," BA said.

I realize and state for the record, this is not the case with many Baptists. It is, however, the state of mind of far too many of them. Not that Baptists have a monopoly on that line of thinking. Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics, Mormons and Islamists don't have a problem in telling other faiths they are wrong.

BA's reception was way too common. I have spoken to too many people who have left religion because of the reception of the people within the church.

Beyond sad.

The Book Of Southern Baptists
Chapter 13 -The Book Of Fellowship

And there cometh unto you a man in need of succor.
And ye, being followers of the man known as The Christ, shall turn him away for he followeth not your teachings.
Ye shall likesum disregard the teachings of the risen Savior for the man who cometh unto you brings ways are anathema unto you, albeit not to the Savior.
Ye shall then retreat unto the Sanctuary to hear the words of the Lord and shall be fed and grow complacent.
Upon departing services to enter into the world again, let not the words spoken to you guide you. Rather, rest upon thy self-centered superiority and ignore those in need.
Excepting thou shalt give from thy wallet unto mission programs that go to those on the other side of the world, for their need is greater as they are many thousands of miles away.
For charity does express itself in the greatest manner with those who thou shalt never see or come to know in person.

ANATHEMA

In that vein, I too am excluded. Call me Anathema.

I am, specifically, excommunicated from the Catholic church. Why? Because of hypocrisy. The Catholic church will not accept membership in secret societies, never mind the fact that the Catholic Church's history is packed with secret societies.

I cannot be a JW because I have this annoying habit of thinking for myself and asking questions. I am shunned, according to their own words, which they have recently changed. Not sure what they call it now. JW friends say they want to come talk to me about faith and the Bible. Words again fail to meet the actions. Which is good. Any conversation with them will not go the way they expect. They expect rejection and hostility. I will serve up questions they will not answer.

I am not a Southern Baptist because I cannot follow their dogmatic structure. 2 different SB preachers have told me as much at 2 different churches.

Can't be an islamist because I believe killing people because they do not believe as I do is a death penalty on the person demanding the killing.

Buddhist? Could be. I find nothing in the Buddhist tenets that conflict with Christianity.

I still, at this moment anyway, have a membership in the Church of God. If the leadership at the state level learned of my activities and views, I would be dropped from the rolls. Why haven't I resigned? I find satisfaction in being a member of that association, knowing that the hierarchy would be horrified if they only knew. Three former preachers at the Church of God here in Ashburn made it extremely clear through words, and more importantly deeds, that I did not fit in, would not fit in and could not be fully accepted unless I changed to meet their expectations.

As Danny Joe Brown sang, "If I have to change to be with you, then I have to be on my way."

I did, am and will change. On my terms. For my reasons.

PAIN

At this moment, BA is in the most intense pain he has ever felt. I can do nothing to assuage this, which compounds my own pain at the loss of L.

BA will either get through this or will not. Either way, I will give him all the support I can, no matter which option he chooses.

His pain is not mine. Mine is not his. Pain is unique to each person who so suffers. I do not judge people because of their pain. I work hard every day to not judge people who strike out because of their pain.

Guns, rights and SCOTUS got it wrong

 The Supreme Court got this one wrong.

SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that people who carry guns can carry on private property with public access.

Arg. Complicated.

Lemme simplify.

SIGN SIGN EVERYWHERE A SIGN

Waffle House used to have a sign on the building. “No firearms allowed.” If you walked in with a gun, the WH folks could tell you to leave. If you did not leave, you could get arrested for trespassing.

SCOTUS says that is not allowed. If you are legally allowed to haul a hogleg in public, you can tote it into the WH.

You can tote that freedom seed dispenser into any privately owned place that has public access. Grocery store, appliance shop, bookstore, bank, auto parts shop. That heater has to be allowed.

The prohibition on toting a gun into government buildings is still in place. No guns in the courthouse, Post Office, school, library, etc.

So I restate - SCOTUS got this one wrong.

BACK UP

Lemme back this up.

Before, if you walked in with a gun, the WH folks could tell you to leave. If you did not leave, you could get arrested for trespassing.

Do you see the problem? 

M’k. I ‘splain.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

Start with this. Individual rights matter.

I am hardcore on individual rights, gun rights, property rights, free speechifying and etc. I support the right of that gay married couple to use a full-auto, belt-fed M60 to protect their marijuana crop while holding Down With The Establishment signs.

At the same time, if I own it, I set the rules.

That couple just above? Their property, their rules.

You don’t like it? Here’s yer options. You can suck it up. You can leave. You can attempt to negotiate with me, up to and including purchasing my private property be that a gun, a business, my house, my farm, my truck, etc.

Aside, if you have a full-auto, belt-fed M60, you are welcome on my farm ANY time if I get to shoot it.

YOUR RIGHTS

You are now asking, “What about my rights? Do I surrender some or all of my rights the moment I step onto your property.”

Some. Yep.

Again, I own it, I set the rules.

I can tell you to leave my property and you have to do so. If you don’t, I call the local constabulary and they escort you off with a warning that if you show up again, you will be arrested and charged with trespassing.

This applies. Applies when and under what circumstances? It applies. Nuf said.

Do I need a reason? Nope. Reasons for this are good, but not necessary. I just need an excuse.

Me believing “yer ugly and yer mother dresses you funny” is enough to have you trespassed.

Waffle House can kick you out at any time.

BY ANY OTHER NAME

A skunk by any other name still stinks. In other words, tackle this from another direction with a different right.

You have the right to free speech. Yup.

I co-own several newspapers. I am not obligated to publish your letter to the editor. This causes immense consternation every so often.

I own real estate. I am not obligated to let you stand in my yard and share your opinions with the world at large.

Your right to free speech ends where my property begins.

My property, My rules still apply.

RIGHTS

You have rights. I have rights. Some of my rights trump your rights when on my property. Some of your rights trump mine when on your property.

Some. Not all.

You carrying a sign promoting your beliefs is one right you surrender if you are on my property. You walking onto my property with a gun is another right subject to my approval or denial.

Don't like it? See above.

SCOTUS simply got this one wrong.

Deliberate Descent into Pain

 He said, “How are you Ben?”

I replied, “Best day ever!”

She said, “I wish I could say that.”

I looked at him and saw a human being who got exactly what she wanted.

Unrelenting pain. Tortured breathing. Staggering forward with the aid of mechanical devices. Systemic failure slowly creeping forward, making this existence a personal dystopian nightmare.

A personal economy standing on the brink of disaster, just needing one gentle bump to complete the destruction.

Understand, this is what she did to himself. It was not an accident. It was deliberate. This was not a cruel twist of fate. This was taking a roll with the dice of life, knowing full well the dice are loaded.

It was a personal choice he made to ruin herself.

50+ years of being approximately the size of a forest hippo.

50+ years of sucking down the smoke of burning tobacco.

50+ years of saying “I need to do that” and never doing it.

50+ years of doing just enough to get by and never enough to really get ahead.

50+ years of knowing better and refusing to do better.

50+ years of wanting desperately to believe lies and living those lies.

Now, with the end clearly in sight, 50+ years of realizing this could have been avoided.

And now, hunched over a walker, she demands a surcease to the self-generated degeneration. He demands from the doctor an addiction, steadfastly refusing to admit it is an addiction. The cure was 50 years ago.

She must drag an oxygen tank, feeding bursts into lungs that sort of function. Lungs that will not allow enough breath to let him laugh anymore and lungs that, in their agony, are still greedy for the killer that brought them this far. The time to put that killer to death was 50 years ago.

The days are spent counting something that is no longer made to see if there is enough to make it through the week, hoping next week will bring more, but knowing that too will not happen. The time to count for the week was 50 years ago.

She asks for grace and mercy that demanded a continuing sacrifice from him 50 years ago.

Now, a crumbling edifice to greed, lethargy, self-lies and procrastination, she staggers forward drawing pity from nearly all who watch him.

A few who look upon this grand living monument of deliberate ignorance, active stupidity and intentional moronification and silently scream to themselves - You got what you asked for. If it is not what you wanted is your fault.

For they do not pity. They know. The result of actions demands absolute accounting for those actions. The bill has come due. The account is nearly empty

All that remains is more of what is now until the last breath comes and brings this to an end.

Who is really more dangerous?

 Which is more dangerous: Allowing people to vote OR allowing people to own a gun?

I am confused (normal) and I am asking for help.

Below I list some points. Accept them as fact for right now. I’ll get to my questions afterward

Posit 1 - In countries with properly elected leaders, voters decide who runs the government.

No proof or source offered for this.

Post 2 — Asking for ID to be able to vote is wrong. The right to vote is fundamental and a reason we fought the War of Independence. Example - “He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.”

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript 

Posit 3 - Demanding ID, background checks and restrictions on gun ownership is lawful and necessary.  Example - “Background checks for firearms have been conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) since November 1998.”

https://www.nraila.org/get-the-facts/background-checks-nics/

Posit 4 - Background checks make the nation safer and prevent mass shootings, children’s deaths and so forth. Example - “In states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence.“

https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/

Posit 5 - Government is the leading killer of people through gun violence. Just in war, a rough estimate is 570 million since 500 BC. And that is low. “This list broadly defines war as an extended conflict between two or more armed political groups. Consequently, it excludes mass death events, such as human sacrifices, ethnic cleansing operations, and acts of state terrorism or political repression during peacetime or in contexts unrelated to war.”

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

Posit 6 - It is hard to get a firm number, but most estimates say the US has more than 20 hunters. I find no evidence of mass shootings of humans in the billions of hunts in the US. “In 2021, the number of people who participated in hunting in the United States (aged six years and older) amounted to approximately 25.87 million. “

https://www.statista.com/statistics/191244/participants-in-hunting-in-the-us-since-2006/

Posit 7 - 43% of US homes have a firearm. More than 80 million people own at least 1 gun.  “Based on NICS background data and manufacturing records, it is estimated that there are 500 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S.”

https://ammo.com/articles/how-many-gun-owners-in-america

Posit 8 - In the past Presidential Election, 154,308,000 voted.  Voter “turnout may reflect the health of popular democracy.  Well-functioning democracies are more inclusive and will have higher turnout.“

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/voter-turnout-in-presidential-elections

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voter-turnout-2020-2024/

I explain my confusion.

We elect people to office. 

Those elected are supposed to serve us, do what we demand and in general, handle business subject to our approval. 

These elected officials start wars, sending us and our children to die and to kill other people and their children. 

I Samuel 8:11-12 is a good example. “And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.”

R and D administrations have launched wars and continued wars.

Lemme make this clearer.

People vote -> Government is created to work for the people -> Government has a war -> People die from the war’s gun violence.

Who is at fault? Who is the real danger? Who is the killer we should be most concerned about? If government works for us, where does the buck stop? 

This may be illogical or flawed. If it is, please point out where the chain of thought collapsed. This may be why I am confused.

If I am correct, please explain to me why we should not have an ID to vote when the US government, the people voters put in place, killed and continue to kill untold numbers of people in mass attacks and individual attacks.

Please explain why an ID and background check are needed to buy a gun when millions of gun owners, about half of the people who actually voted, have never shot anyone and hope they never have to shoot anyone.

Guns and voting are both are rights enshrined in the Constitution

Who really is the most dangerous here? What am I missing?

Based strictly on ALLLLLL the evidence I can gather, voting is way more dangerous than owning a gun.

You want IDs and background checks to buy a gun. I want the same exact rules, whatever they are, applied to voting.

Another rambling rant

 

Accepting reality whether I want to or not

This week (week of 2 March 2026), I have dropped my face into my hands and dang near wept.

I may yet do so before the day (6 March 2026) is over.

This is not a column on religion, but I must make one reference to get my point across. I understand more and more why “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. He was utterly heartbroken at how incredibly dense people could be. He was simply flattened because people refused to accept the reality standing before them.

Ok then. To explain in secular terms:

HOW STUPID

Never underestimate how deliberately stupid a person can be.

Before you get excited about that, that statement includes you and it includes me. Over the years, I’ve become better at not being deliberately stupid. Sometimes I slip.

Also, never underestimate how much hypocrisy one person can spew with full righteous fury.

Today, I refer you to politicians at every level and leaders of various countries around the world.

I tellya, it is enough to make a preacher cuss.

Yep. I have resorted to profanities more’n once where the current state of affairs rests. This situation reaches from my small community in Southwest Georgia all the way up to the international stage.

GETTIN’ LOCAL

Gettin’ local on you, I also say the sheer ______ _______ __________ stupidity evidenced by some of the folks here in Turner County, Ga., is not unique. It is not rare. It is not unusual. It is entirely commonplace.

I have lived in Georgia, Alabama, Nevada and Florida. I tell you this: Change the names and the geographic location and the negative IQ among the leaders is exactly the same.

To the north of us, Crisp County has imploded over and over and over.

To the west, Dougherty County actually got bad enough to merit a letter from the Georgia Attorney General. The AG basically said, “Stop being naughty.” I have addressed the Attorney General's deliberate impotence elsewhere. Won’t rehash here.

To the east, Irwin County has suffered through meltdown after meltdown.

I am surprised the newspapers covering these mass self-done and intentional lobotomies did not spontaneously explode into flames in the sales racks.

This does not apply to all leaders. Some are actually good, worthwhile and are doing what is right regardless of the consequences. They do not last long. They are hounded until they retreat to a cave or are killed.

FERTILIZER

Why do people put up with this high-grade organic bovine fertilizer? Because people are generally weak, want to be led and hate the idea of thinking for themselves so much, they happily farm the task out to whomever yells “I AM THE GREAEST” the loudest, the longest and the mostest.

Yes huhn.

Only a very few are willing to say “Nah. I think I can do a better job of running my life than anyone else can. If I cannot do a better job, it is still life to run as I see fit.”

These people do not last long. They are hounded until they retreat to a cave or are killed

Monks walk for peace

This is here for a reason, but I can’t remember why right now. Something to do with politics whether the monks wanna admit to it or not

THE POINT I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE

If you have read this far, here is the point I really wanted to make.

We have some ______ _________ ______ ___ ___________ _____ _______ idiots in office and in positions of leadership here in Turner County. Again, change names and geography and I’ll say the same thing.

It is like these leaders have farmed out their thinking to AI, Artificial Idiocy. Apparently, their own idiocy was not sufficient. Reinforcement and all that.

If someone else came at these leaders with that same line of _____ ____________ ______ _______ _______, these leaders would be offended, irked, irritated, mad, angrily amused, annoyed and so on.

But when THEY do it, noooooo. They are the Supreme Galactic Overlord handing down a pronouncement.

One of these “leaders” is raising hell over what this “leader” sees as nepotism.

Apparently, someone has a daughter (shocking) with a boyfriend (EGAD! How dare she) and this boyfriend got a job (horrendibilus) and the daughter’s parental unit (imagine a child having a parent!) is one of the boyfriend’s superiors in the hierarchy (an organized leadership chain of command, unfathomable!).

This “leader” had the power to hire or fire - get this! - the leader’s own progeny. Never any question but that the offspring had to be hired.

But that’s different.

I assure you, I am not spreading guano on your crops. This is a bona fide reality where I currently hang my hat, collect tax notices and pontificate on a Macintosh.

DOUBLE WIELDING DAMOCLES

What we have here is an elected official going Florentine with a Sword of Damocles in each hand.

https://geddon.org/Florentine

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

This elected official has no idea how to sword fight, to extend the metaphor.

In a ... well, dang. Hang on.

Most of the other elected leaders involved in this matter have sided against this “leader.” They all sit on the same board.

The hierarchy of the “leader” and the cohort supervise have also arrayed against the leader.

This is a mildly surprising display of cohesion and unity in the face of well-precedented blatant hypocrisy (example at the federal level - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-kills-effort-release-congressional-sexual-misconduct-harassment-rcna261679) and a thorough, deliberate ignorance of the law, some important contracts and chains of command.

Leaders can come together to oppose another leader and they do so frequently.

At the same time, the leaders’ opposition is very often just as wrong as the leader they go after. This time in my community, they are in the right. Mostly.

As to the rest of my descriptive phrases above, I say deliberate et al and I mean it. In the Peach State, elected officials are required to have a certain amount of training, which includes:

• Updates on laws affecting their jobs
• HR
• Policies and how to implement & use them
• General information on how to do the job

This training is too often like pouring water into a bass fishing dip net. Something happened, maybe, probably not and if it did, it was not worth paying attention to.

_______ _______ _____ ____________ ________ _________ ________ AND ______ ___________ EVERY ___________ ___________ __________!

OFFENDED

You might say I am offended by this. You are not entirely wrong, as evidenced by the blank spaces above representing words I am not using in this post.

I am more disappointed.

I am, increasingly, annoyed with myself.

To ‘splain

Not long ago, Mike M. attempted to talk me down as my internal boiler was reaching critical pressure. The situation was simply: Some people did not do what they repeatedly stated they would do. This is sometimes more than I can handle.

https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/when-autism-and-adhd-occur-together

Mike tried to tell me I cannot expect others to live to my standards and expectations. He is right. 100% He got that from the Stoics. However, in the middle of an ... attack for lack of a better word, my grey matter simply does not process this.

In hindsight - “When you are offended at any man’s fault,” Epictetus tells us, “turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.”

Yeah. Thanks.

So, as I rail against our leaders, I stop to see when I have done the exact same thing. I realize i am no better than they.

However, I am not in a position to make a decision that will affect the lives of thousands and thousands of people for better or worse. These leaders are.

They abdicate or, even worse, abrogate the responsibility to do what is right.

My negative emotions and reactions are further fueled by my inability to make needed changes. One man, one vote can make a difference, but it is rare. I have seen local races decided by 3 votes. What little I can do (this blog being evidence), I do.

Too often, I feel that I am calling for Pancho to saddle my steed, for there are dragons to be slain.

We have met the enemy and he is us - Walt Kelley from the Pogo comic strip

Let's talk about countries.

Call the nation Wlhud (We Live Here You Don’t).

Imagine if you will Wlhud has repeatedly attacked and periodically invaded other countries.  These are not defensive attacks. These attacks are attempts at regime change, attempts to shut down various lawful activities, proxy battles between Wlhud and Tioc  (This Is Our Country). Sometimes these attacks are resource grabs because Wlhud is big enough, strong enough and mean enough to just go in and try to take it.

Tioc defends its way of life and that of its allies. Tioc insists there is nothing wrong with the way people in its country and other places are living. Tioc also says invading to grab resources, regime change and so far is plainly wrong.

Consider also that Wlhud has broken more treaties than any other country in the world.

Whoops. Got that backward.

Tioc is the one doing the attacks. Wlhud is the other side.

Ah crap. I had it right the first time.

Sheet. Maybe it is reversed.

Eh.

The leaders of Wlhud make sure none of the leaders’ family members get involved in combat. If a family member accidentally winds up in the military, strings are pulled to make sure Family Guy is a REMF (rear echelon mother fucker) in no danger whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Tioc makes sure to take the poor, those with limited prospects, sometimes criminals and put them in the military. Yes, some to most of Tioc’s forces are volunteers and joined because they actually wanted to, for whatever reason. Still, Hobson’s Choice ain’t a choice at all.

Hang on. Did I get that one backward, too? Y’all let me know.

Wlhud goes out and kills civilians and children in other countries. Collateral damage. It happens. Wlhud excuses this as just a cost of war and it was nothing personal.

Homes are bombed into dust. Hospitals are shattered. Infrastructure is demolished and vital supplies like water are cut off, often poisoned and so forth. Crops are razed before harvest. Wlhud said this demoralizes the enemy and is a quick path to victory.

No, sorry. That is what Tioc does. I am sure of it.

Meanwhile, Tioc oppresses its citizens, violates basic human rights and insists it is a paragon of virtue. Any criticism of how citizens are treated are shouted down, loudly and repeatedly, with plenty of finger-pointing at the accuser’s own record of human rights violations.

Tioc citizens died because they cannot get the medicare care they need. They go hungry sometimes. Relief is often shanghaied and dumped into the leaders’ pockets and their friends. This is either covered up or a token arrest is made, usually someone who offended the leadership. An example is made and the leaders roundly back slap each other and tell citizens what a good job they are doing.

Yanno what? I believe that is what Wlhud does.

Arg.

Confused yet? Why? It’s very simple.

Do this -

Strip away the country’s name and its geographic location. Remove identifiers.

Now look at the records I mention above. Go with JUST what that country does and forget the name and location.

Sheer numbers. Straight numbers. Only numbers. No identifiers.

Now you tell me, which country is which.

You can’t.

You tell me children and civilians are dying and it just happens. Really. Bombs go off on your community and you lose family members, will you still say "it just happens?" Will you be as nonchalant when the water you drink is fouled and poisonous? NIMBY much? Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PivWY9wn5ps

Unions? You mean worthless employee protection racket

A recent experience has reinforced my decision that unions are nothing more than a money-making scheme both for the unions and for union members AND a scheme to keep bad employees on the payroll.

I shan't bore you with all my experiences with unions. Those are somewhere herein. Dig 'em out at your own risk.

Rather, today I present you another example of a union protecting a bad employee.

I am a federal firearms license holder. I buy, sell and trade guns with the (not needed) permission of the government.

Guns are shipped to me.

A recent shipment was a handgun. It came via US Post Office.

That same day a shipment of medicine for an organ transplant recipient (roommate in the house) was also delivered via the Post Office.

The gun required, please note the word required as this is vital, an adult signature.

I got home the evening the items were delivered. Because I was in Big Red, I had to pull past the mail box and get out to get the daily delivery. This is important. If I were in the little truck, I could have reached the mail box. Likely, I'da driven into the yard and parked, never seeing the packages.

There, lying against the front yard pecan tree, were 2 packages from the USPS. Note here, I live on US Highway 41, the second most famous road in the United States. Allman Brothers, Ramblin' Man.

I also live on the edge of the Hood. The packages were visible from Highway 41. I've had stuff stolen from my fenced back yard in the past.

I took the packages inside. Look at me, being a responsible adult and all.

Meds for the kidney transplant patient. These are literally life and death medications. 

A pistol.

FAILED

Once again, I failed the Stoics. I was mad enough chew steel and s--t nails. My ass wanted to crochet bobwar.

Let's not belabor the point.

COMPLAINT

I filed a complaint.

I wrote, at the request of the USPS investigator, 2 reports on what happened.

The first report outlined what happened.

Report 2 addressed the statement the letter carrier gave to the investigators:

1) The package signature had Baker Brothers. BB Easy Handling Watermelon System is the name of the gun company.

2) The carrier said she spoke to my daughter who the carrier said refused to sign. The carrier said my daughter (who she could not identify) told her to leave it under the tree. For the record:
    a) Progeny 2 is a paramedic. She knows how important those meds are.
    b) Also, my favorite daughter was at work that day.
    c) Offspring the Second receives mail at my house but does not live there.

THE INVESTIGATION

The investigation included an interview with USPS officials and, of course, a rep. from the USPS union.

Under questioning, the carrier would not identify who signed for the gun. Would. Not. Hrmmm.

Repeating questioning, with the union rep present, proved as useful as interrogating a wood duck about the current state of affairs in Iran. Lots of quacking, plenty of ruffled feathers and s--t piled high and deep.

THE CONCLUSION

The lead investigator and I talked, in person, in front of my house. The investigator fell on the metaphorical sword.

What'd I learn?

The carrier was given "punishment." The investigator did not say what that was, what it involved or how serious it was. Reading between screaming billboards on fire on the Interstate, I inferred the carrier was given a mild reprimand and was told, "Do not do this again."

The investigator told me that is what the Union "would allow."

Uh huhn.

So we have a quasi-federal government employee in a union who was derelict on duty and:

1) Put another human being a real risk of severe health problems, possibly death.
2) Put an entire community at risk of a stolen firearm going into the hands of various community thugs. My neighborhood has shootings (generally no one hurt) pretty regularly.

The union has, once again, stepped in to protect someone who should not have the job the person holds.

AFTERMATH

Aftermath? Exactly as I have come to expect from unions.

In other words, not a diety-cursed making-of-the-beast-with-2-backs thing.

The investigator told me that carrier is "our problem child" and is under increased "observation" by the Investigator and the Post Master. "If (entity) did it once, likely (entity) has done it before," the investigator said.

Again, in other words, not a diety-cursed making-of-the-beast-with-2-backs thing will be done.

This has reinforced my belief that unions are not worthless. They serve as a bad example and tell us what we should not do.

When I failed the Stoics

This is about deadlines. This is about me. This is about how I react to deadlines. This is how I failed the Stoics, sort of.

For more'n 40 years I have lived with, by, through, for and on deadlines in a way most people won't quite understand.

In my world, missing a deadline is more than just being late. It is losing. Losing exponentially as that distance between the deadline and when the work will actually be done gets greater.

Arg. Complicated.

Try this - In my world, missing a deadline has very real costs. Those costs grows exponentially as time passes.

It is more than just what it does to my wallet. It is more than what it does to the company wallet. Those are bad enough.

Missing a deadline, without a valid reason is worse for a 2-part reason:

1) It is rude
2) It is an inconvenience

These, these, they drive me I allow these 2 things far more control over me than they should have.

Needs work, as one friend in particularly regularly states about himself. That's a reminder to me.

RUDE

It is rude because the people who missed the deadline do not care about other folks and their lives and what they have to do. They are too self-centered. They believe the word revolves around them.

What and when they want is all that matters. Other people are either obstacles to be obliterated, steps to reach higher or something to simply be ignored in the way Cthulhu considers this reality.

I do not like dealing with those kind of people. Where possible, I do not deal with them.

INCONVENIENCE

These people who think of deadlines as something that applies to other people also have no problem being an inconvenience to others. See above.

These inconsiderate people have no problem in making others set aside their schedules, their wants, their needs and everything else.

Deadlines to these people are simply ficticious points on a chronological map. At least until it blows up and they have to start eating the cost.

Ahhhhh.

A LESSON

You might think that is enough to teach a lesson. You are wrong. Humans have a singular ability to tilt at windmills up to their final breath.

Me? I have spent far too much time sounding the charge and demanding Pancho give me the best lance. I am trying to change this.

TIME

Time is apparently an illusion to these folks. They do things when they feel like it.

Round here we call it Turner County Time. I am certain you have a similar saying where you are. The geographic name changes. The idea is constant.

I recall dedicating the High School gym here to the late Ronalda Pierce. Time set. Time started. Moved through the 45-minute ceremony. Done.

As we were shaking hands, remembering Ronalda and such, people were still coming into the gym expecting to see the ceremony. 45 minutes late is still on time to some people.

When these people are the ones being treated rudely or inconvenienced by missed deadlines, the world has come to an end. People responsible must be punished. 

Point out they do the same thing? Insults fly. Cognitive dissonance rules.

FAILED

And this is where I failed the Stoics, sort of.

They tell us everything that happens is good. 

The Stoics also remind me I am not in control of my circumstances, but I am 100% in control of my reaction to them. Unreasoning emotional reactions are not good.

The Stoics tell us to accept our fate and go a step further. Embrace it. Love it. Amor Fati.

They also tell us if we can change things, do it. If we cannot, accept it.

I try to do that. I presently can't won't always do that with those other people who think a deadline is just a word in a dictionary. I am trying to be better.

Where deadlines and other people are concerned ... stoicism is replaced with fury. I explain further.

GREATER THE IRE

The more people who are affected, the greater the ire. This is not just about me.

If it was about me, I'd be a Mt. Vesuvius every time I went to the doctor. Appointment 9:30. Get into the exam room 10:30. Doc walks in 10:45.

This only affects me. I ain't always happy. I am resigned to it. I manage. I have learned to block off the time needed for events like this. Where possible, I do things that need doing while I wait.

Some day I will learn to accept and embrace it. Amor Fati.

Maybe.

Again, it only affects me. I roll with it.

Add more people to the mix, I presently cannot will not handle it in a rational way.

BETTER

I am getting better at handling other people missing deadlines. I am learning to just say, "Cool." and then walk away leaving those who mangled matters to sort it out without my presence.

This is me changing things.

When I have walked away, this has left other people shocked, stunned, outraged and etc.

Their problem. Not mine. They can should become Stoic and enjoy it. Or, learn what a deadline is and stick to it.

Ooooooo.

Unfortunately, walking away is not always reasonably possible for me. It is always possible, but may come with a cost I cannot am unwilling to pay. If you know much about me, you understand that. In those cases, I should must accept the matter with calm dignity. 

I'm trying.

If someone misses a deadline enough times, that person is no longer part of my situations and circumstances. I simply will not acknowledge them. I handled the matter. Costs will be paid.

VALID

Missing a deadline with a valid reason, not an excuse, I can deal with that. Fecal materials are a space-time occurrence.

Need to change the deadline? Let folks know as soon as you can. Let people who are also in the queue know so they can adjust their schedules.

This notice and adjustment recently happened in a matter I was involved with. 

All involved got an update when the matter was pushed back about 30 minutes. Cool! I made adjustments. It worked. The Stoic in me smiled and said "This too is a good thing."

That notice showed:

Respect
Acknowledgement
Awareness

To me, that ain't a lot to ask. To too many others, that is a task required effort beyond measure.

To those people, I offer a modern Stoic response - A lack or planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

Cannot help

 <sigh>

UPDATE: The individual in question below was taken into custody by the Ashburn Police Department on Monday afternoon. Charged with a minor offense. She had a warm place to sleep and food.

Rolled into work a few minutes after 6. Across the street, she was standing, rocking back and forth. She likely slept there in that small, unheated space.

The space holds a kiosk for people to pay their power bill. That's it. No heat, that I know of. Might be heated. May have AC because this is S. Georgia. Summer temps and electronics do not pair well.

She had to be — no she did not. If the owner arrived before she left, she'd get arrested again.

Then she'd have a warm place to stay and food, for at least as long as she stayed in jail. She is a regular at the Iron Bar hotel.

WHAT WAS COMING

Knowing what was coming, I opened the door, stepped in and locked it behind me.

Yep. 30 minutes later, the door rattled. She was trying to get in.

The crew arrived. Left door unlocked.

She came back. Mumbling incoherently. Obviously wanting something, anything. She'd take it and trade it to someone for money to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes and whatever else struck her as necessary at that moment.

In that moment, I remembered why my desk is behind a wall, away from public view, for those times when people come into the building. At least I get a second or so to react, if needed, before they make it around the counter and back to me.

I ain't paranoid. I have proof. Tangible proof. Come by. I'll show you the bullet holes.

Anyway, the door was locked after she left. She came back a few moments ago. Door still locked.

A LIFE OF FREEDOM

A brief story -

Yakutsk, Russia, is supposed to be one of the coldest cities on earth. Temps regularly hit -50 C. If you wanna believe Google, that's -58 F. You can freeze to death quite quickly.

Yakutsk has homeless people. One gent there has lived homeless there for 20 years. He does not want a home. He prefers his life of ultimate freedom. Wow.

Yes, it is freedom. No taxes, no job, no expectations.

She has the same freedom. She refuses to cooperate with people who try to help. People have gotten her an apartment, a room, etc. Never stays long. Either leaves or gets kicked out. The kicking is far more likely.

MENTAL HEALTH

She probably has mental health issues. I cannot state this for certain. Other people have told me she does.

I hear people yelling, "We need to do more for people with mental health issues."

How? What? When? Where? People like her refuse any and all help. Will. Not. Take. It. Handouts of cash, drugs, food, booze, gladly accepted.

Years ago, we dealt with these people by putting them in "mental institutions." That is now cruel and inhumane. Sometimes, I agree. Sometimes, I disagree. Some people need to be removed from the public.

Is she one? I am not sure. As best I know, she's never harmed anyone. She has yelled at people, including me. Could she harm someone? Sure. We all have that potential.

Potential is not reality. If we lock up people because "they might," then we should all be behind bars.

Anyway, how can you help someone who just walks away every time?

SHE BE SWINGING

She can be rational. She can be as irrational as a toddler denied a cookie. There is no telling who you'll get when you encounter her. Those swings are massive.

According to her, I am either her pastor, a racist, a handout provider or something else found within her personal universe.

Yeah.

I do my best to avoid her, as I did this morning. No good comes of the times we interact.

CANNOT HELP

I cannot help. I do not know how to help.

I am not sure I want to know how to help. It may take too much. It may take something I am not willing to give.

At least for a while, I am pretty much a prisoner in my office. I can leave, maybe. Walk, yes. Drive? No. If I get into the truck, I am genuinely concerned she will stand behind it so I cannot back out. If she does that, then the local constabulary has to be called in. I do not want to do that, even though it means she'd have food and a place at least for a few days.

I am at a loss.

If you have suggestions, I'm listening.