This morning, our message from church was based on Psalm 125, which begins, ” Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” The pastor, after reading the Psalm, went on to talk about the last seven months for the people of our church. He said that he had noticed two ends of the spectrum, those who were despondent and those who, to him, appeared overconfident. He said he would like to sit with each side to ask why they felt that way during this time of Covid-19.

Those who feel despondent, in my opinion, feel that way because the mainstream media tells them to. For much of the population, the media is their only contact with the outside world. In my state of North Carolina, our Governor has locked people away and shuttered businesses and entertainment venues. Early in the life of this virus, he even closed parks and boat ramps in an effort to make people stay home. All too slowly, he has begun to relax restrictions (we are in phase 3 currently). Every evening, at the beginning of the newscast, they are assaulted by the newest numbers of infected (including those with false positives, or merely suspected of having the virus), and deaths ( whether the people died of Covid or merely with Covid). Rarely, until very recently, did the media mention those who had recovered, which the vast majority did. With all of this, who could wonder why the despondency!

Now, as for those who are overconfident, I’d have to say that’s not me. However, I suspect our pastor would include me in the group. You know how it is when you think the church leader is talking about you! I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn a mask, mostly when working our local food pantry, where it is mandatory. I know the mask isn’t going to keep the virus out, given the size of the virus and how porous the mask is. I wore gloves the first week or two, then relied on alcohol swabs for a while after touching things. I do find myself washing my hands a bit more, but not that much more. I’ve researched the virus, whether you call it Covid-19, Coronavirus or China virus, to know it’s highly survivable, even at the eldest group. There have been several who recovered who were past 100 years of age.

I don’t normally watch mainstream media, except 30 minutes at 5PM for local news. Hey, let’s face it; they have an extreme liberal slant here on the coast. My next birthday, I’ll be 70 years old. I am a US Marine veteran who fought in Vietnam, Beirut, and Desert Storm. Do I believe I’m invincible? No! Do I think Covid is real? Yes, but highly exaggerated by media for political gain! Where do I get my confidence in this time of “pandemic”? The Lord! The pastor took another 30 minutes in his sermon to reach the same conclusion!

My first vote came in November of 1972 and I jumped at the chance. I had just turned 22. Four years earlier, during the elections in 1968, I was a US Marine in Vietnam and was unable to vote. At that time, voting age was 21, so I was old enough to fight for our country, but not old enough to vote for the person actually responsible for determining my actions.

Don’t get me wrong; I enlisted knowing full well I’d probably be going to Vietnam. I was happy when the voting age was lowered because I thought it was right. I gladly voted in 1972 and haven’t missed a Presidential election since. I’ve only missed a few mid-term elections.

I’ve seen a lot during those 5+ decades on the election front. I remember Ronald Reagan’s comment that Socialism is only a generation away (true) and, most recently, both major parties are saying the other party will never be voted out if they win this one (false over the last 12 years but debatable). After leaving the military, I’ve worked on campaigns for candidates, volunteered as a poll greeter for candidates and causes, and volunteered with advocacy groups to get out the vote. I’ve knocked on doors and spoken to groups for my choice of candidates.

Recently, I’ve heard from some saying it’s pointless to go vote. They think their vote doesn’t count. Let me assure you that every vote counts! I’ve seen elections decided by just a couple of votes. There have been many elections that have been too close to call, even if some network or other calls it for one candidate when the other candidate wins when all the votes are counted. Sometimes it’s so close that a recount is required to determine the winner.

This year, the sides are so diverse, the issues so polarizing that it almost requires everyone to stand on a side. Determining which side should be easy. Capitalism or Socialism. Law and order or chaos and anarchy. Constitutionality or authoritarianism. There are other issues on the ballot as well. The choices should seem obvious to you. If they don’t, you should wake up, pay attention (usually signified by listening more and talking less) and do actual research. Then ask questions. Do not let the media do the thinking for you. Think for yourselves.

Edmund Burke once said, ” Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little”. Keep these words in mind. You have a voice. Use it! When you vote, you use that voice in the loudest means possible! To do less could be your greatest mistake!

When the actions of one or more police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota resulted in the death of a man, the citizens of the city were outraged. The video that is everywhere on the internet is very compelling for a case of police brutality. I am not going to pass judgement on the incident. Currently, there are at least two investigations ongoing, one state/local and one federal. I’ll wait for the results of those investigations. My concern is what happened after.

The outrage sparked protests against police brutality, which are protected by the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution. [Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.] I have been involved in more than a few protests and I defend the right to protest. This protest was well warranted and brought about the firing of the officers involved, followed by charges against one officer. The protests were followed by looting, violence and destruction of property. The protests ceased to be protests and became crimes, up to and including domestic terrorism.

A protest strives for change, bettering conditions for people. These riots do nothing for that end. All they do is feed anarchy, a lack of respect for people or property. By setting fire to a business, do you think they care about the jobs of people who worked there? Not a bit! The city property destroyed will have to be replaced at taxpayer expense. The people injured by the rioters will have huge medical bills. Anyone killed by the rioters will leave a hole in a family and community that can’t be filled.

The major problem here is that most of those coming in on their crime spree of mayhem and violence aren’t members of the communities they are damaging; they come from out of state. Are they paid agitators? Who’s paying them? Who’s organizing them? There is an organization to the madness. In Dallas, a couple of nights ago, there was planning enough for pallets of bricks to be dropped off prior to the riots for their use against property.

More and more cities and states are requesting National Guard units to calm things down. Those same leaders are calling for curfews. Last night, there were a lot of people out after those curfews. Were they arrested? Were they just cited and released? Too often those “leaders” pull their own police out of areas or tell them to stand down. Leaving areas vulnerable to destruction is not a viable solution. Giving free reign to terrorists doesn’t work!

President Trump wants to declare Antifa, an anarchy group which claims to be anti-fascist, while using violent, Fascist tactics and probably largely involved in these riots, a terrorist organization. Great. Bring them in, follow the money and indict those funding this terrorism. It’s worked with other terrorist organizations. This probably won’t happen as it will embarrass too many elites!

As of today, 13th March 2020, there are 1832 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 41 deaths due to the virus. Throughout the world, over 4600 people have died due to COVID-19, the new name of Coronavirus. The virus is especially vicious among the elderly and patients with underlying medical issues. Among my age group, 60-69, the mortality rate is around 3.4%. It goes up to around 7% among 70-79 and rises to around 14% at 80+ years old. To say this isn’t a serious illness would be ignoring facts.

From the beginning of COVID-19, the illness has been front and center everywhere on news sources, easily making up a good 30% of the programming. This week, Cancellations began, first the ACC tournament, followed by the NBA and NHL seasons and a Gran Prix race and postponement of the Master’s tournament.  Our Governor of North Carolina came on and recommended banning meeting of groups of more than 100 people due to COVID-19 concerns in our state.

A few months before the onset of COVID-19, local news contained a nightly update of flu cases. As of 7th March 2020, there have been over 36,000,000 illnesses, more than 370,000 hospitalizations, and over 22,000 deaths in the U.S.. These are low side estimates according to the CDC (high side estimate is 55,000 dead). News on the flu has basically disappeared from television scenes, although it’s still out there. At the peak of flu season, schools had many kids missing school because of illness. Schools weren’t closed, businesses remained open, concerts went on and ball games continued.

So, what is the difference? Why is one a passing mention and the other is treated as the world wide disaster? The flu happens every year. There’s a vaccine yearly for it, although with varying effectiveness. People choose whether to take the vaccine or not. In other words, barely worth a mention in the media.

COVID-19, on the other hand, is new, unless you’re a cattle rancher, and can be molded as necessary into a crisis condition. The media can whip the people into a frenzy, and make a profit on it according to the way the handle the information. As an example, in my state of North Carolina, over the last ten days or so, we went from two people infected to five, to eight then 15 yesterday. A local news station, during their broadcast reported that one person was confirmed and the rest were presumptive. I’m not sure if that part of the story was intentional or accidental. The lead-in to the story was, of course, 15 people now with Coronavirus. The numbers are being manipulated.

Presumptive positive seems to be a buzzword, as does social distancing, defined as keeping six feet between you and everyone else in a group. Fear of contamination is being used to shut down events. Businesses will be next. Schools and Colleges are already closing until further notice. There are already rumors of mandatory self-quarantine.

The Progressives, experts in Alinsky policies of never letting a crisis go to waste, started swinging the hammer of COVID-19 against Trump and the Republicans from the very first of the situation. They complain about Trump taking too long to close the border when, for the last three years, they were screaming for Open Borders! The Democrat candidates for President blamed him for the entire crisis, while offering nothing in response except socialized medicine.

So, here we are. New York is turning the city of New Rochelle into a internment zone, surrounded by NY National Guard,confiscating private property  to accept patients with Coronavirus. California Governor Newsom signed an order to commandeer hotels and motels for the acceptance of the sick.

Fear does strange things. I had to go to the grocery store today. I needed some trash bags and toilet paper was on the same aisle. Not a single roll of toilet paper was there.Now, COVID-19 is a respiratory illness  rarely being accompanied by intestinal distress. So, why the run (pun intended) on toilet paper. During all this turmoil, rights are being trampled and Congress is in session unsupervised! The media and Progressives have us watching by a disease!

Certain events in history leave an indelible mark on your memory. These events often lead to the question, “Where were you when…”.                                                           “Where were you when the stock market crashed, starting the Great Depression?”      “Where were you when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?”                                            “Where were you when JFK was shot?”                                                                                     “Where were you when the World Trade Center was attacked?”

I can answer the last two. The first two predated me, contrary to what some think.

September 11, 2001. I was in Wilmington, NC. It was a beautiful day; not a cloud in the sky. I was Human Resources Manager for a staffing company that specialized in placing construction journeymen and craftsmen on job sites with which we had contracts. Business was fairly good. I usually came into the office around 8AM to get an idea of what needed staffing, who showed up for work at the job sites and who didn’t and any new job sites that needed staffing.

Just before 9AM, our receptionist, a good friend and fellow veteran, called me to say her husband called to tell her a plane had just struck one of the Twin Towers. A bit surprised, I continued my work. It didn’t take more than a minute or two before I heard the TV in the break room come on. It was right next to my office. So, I went to check it out.

I can’t remember if I saw the second plane hit the Towers, or if I remember it from the endless replays of the crash. Soon afterward, I started getting phone calls from craftsmen we had placed. At the start of the day,  we had contracts to staff five or six jobs on military bases. Shortly after the second plane crashed into the Tower, that came to an abrupt halt. Realizing this was most likely a coordinated terrorist attack, all military bases went on alert, no one to be on base unless they were supposed to be there, all leave cancelled. All non-military personnel were being escorted off base.

I went about my job. When I had a chance, I was watching what was happening on TV. I remember watching the towers fall; I remember the sinking feeling as they did. I remember some of the phone calls I fielded. Several of the craftsmen said that if there was a way to get to ground zero to help, they’d go for free. I remember a friend that called; he worked for another company as HR manager and wanted to inquire about re-enlisting in the Army. He was young and had just gotten out of a mechanized infantry unit a year or two before. I had a flash of a thought as to whether the US Marines would let a 50 year old re-up. I remember how quiet it was outside with no aircraft in the skies above.

What I remember most was the unity. On that day, we were all Americans. Even Republicans and Democrats were united. Well, that was short-lived. We are in jeopardy of forgetting what happened that day. Various media and social platforms scrub it from newsfeeds. We even have a Congresswoman who publicly refers to it as “Some people did something.” Well, the “some people” were 19 Jihadi terrorists and the “some thing” resulted in the deaths of nearly 3000 people, more if you add in the deaths from illnesses from working at Ground Zero.We can never forget 911!

Bernie Sanders, National Socialist (Democrat) candidate for President of the United States, has had a bad month or so. His problem is his hypocrisy. Basically, he wants to walk on both sides of the road.

This weekend, the Senator praised the protestors in Hong Kong for their bravery in standing up for their beliefs. For once, I agree completely in that message. However, if you take the next step in reasoning, those brave young people in Hong Kong are protesting everything he is advocating for citizens here in the United States. Those protestors are standing up against the iron fist of the Peoples Republic of China, who wish to tighten the noose of Socialism on Hong Kong. To make the situation a bit more poignant video was released of military trucks moving closer to the province. Any person who knows the Chinese might remember Tiananmen Square and the Chinese using tanks to put down the protestors.

Bernie Sanders campaigns on free stuff, the classic lure of Socialism. The realism is that, under Socialism, the central authority gets to choose what’s best for you. You get what you want, as long as it’s in the best interest of the government. This is what Bernie wants for us, so how can he praise the protestors for standing on their principles against what he sees as the right path for us?

Of course, Bernie likes to walk on both sides of the road. About a month ago, he was talking about a minimum wage of $15 per hour. He has always said that is a living wage and companies need to forget their profits to pay this minimum to employees. Shortly after, his campaign staff demanded $15 per hour and he balked. After several days of bad press, he gave in and gave his employees the minimum wage of $15. Everybody’s happy, right? Not once it is revealed that those employees hours are going to be cut. We all know Bernie would be castigating any company that did the same thing, but it’s fine for Bernie!

Obviously, Bernie is talking out of both sides of his mouth, but only because he only has two sides of his mouth. If he had more sides of his mouth, who knows. All I can say is, Bernie, you can’t have it both ways!

    Today is Memorial Day.  All week-end long, people have been celebrating a three-day holiday, going to the beach, or the racetrack or just going to sales and parties. It’s currently after noon, so I just raised the American flag from halfmast to full in accordance to protocol. The flag is where it belongs, but so are my thoughts still on those I knew who gave their lives in the performance of their duties, as well as the families left behind. During the last few days, I’ve cringed when someone said Happy Memorial Day.

This morning, there was an article that said only 55% of Americans knew the significance of Memorial Day. That’s sad enough, but it went on to say the majority of those who did know were the older people. Unless things change, in 20 to 30 years, few will know the meaning.

I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 17 years old, after graduating high school. I served 25 years as a US Marine (from ’68 to ’93) with service in Vietnam, Beirut and Desert Storm. I knew way too many heroes who lost their lives in far off places fighting for our freedoms at home. When I visit the Vietnam Wall, I see the names etched in the black granite, but also see the faces of some of my friends who died in the mountains and rice paddies there. At Camp Lejuene, at the Beirut Memorial, I remember the friend that I talked into going to Marine OCS in Quantico, Va. He excelled in training and got his choice of assignments. He chose to go to Beirut. I escorted him back to his final resting place. I still see their faces. They haven’t aged, though I have. There’s a twinge of “why them and not me”. “There but by the Grace of God” just doesn’t sound right to me.

There’s a quote by an unknown author that goes, “For those who have fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know”. Not only is there the flavor, but also the smell, the sound and raw memories.

Over 1.2 million American lives have been lost by heroes who have sacrificed those lives for Freedom. Freedom isn’t free; it was bought by American blood and lives. Their legacy needs to be passed on to the next generation, then the one after that, forever. Remember them as you go about your festivities. I will, as I strive to be an American worth their sacrifice.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

This philosophy has been actively employed by Progressives for many years. The media uses it throughout everything it does. This philosophy has changed “illegal” to “undocumented’, “weather” to  either “climate change, global warming or cooling”. This allows them to change whole dialogues. It allays concerns in some instances and intensifies others.

Take, for example, the word “democracy”. It’s often heard on TV shows, movies and news reports in describing our country’s political system. You hear it in conversations and discussions or debates. You may have heard it so many times, you think of the United States as a democracy. Here’s the problem: in 1787, at the conclusion of the Federal Convention, after being asked by Mrs. Powell what form of government they had given the People, Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” With the interchangeability of democracy and republic by Progressives, I fear we may not be able to keep it.

Words have meanings! A democracy is very different from a republic. Seasons change and so does the weather. Going along with pronoun changes to describe the gender of a person doesn’t change the DNA of that person. Learn to listen to what is being said, and how it is said. We can’t allow the Progressives to control the dialogue.

The quote from above, if you didn’t recognize it, came from Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda for Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. The full quote is as follows:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Goebbels used this technique to great effect which plunged the Germans into a World War and the deaths of millions. Do we want to allow Progressives to lead us the same way?

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I was watching a news channel this morning when, along the bottom of the screen, a headline scrolled by: “Nearly half of Republicans want President Trump to have the power to shut down media outlets.” After looking for further information, I determined this came from the New York Post, although that article doesn’t cite the group that did the survey. According to the article, about 49% of respondents agreed, while 36% disagreed. This is disturbing.

To have almost half of Republicans wanting to surrender First Amendment rights to the government (or a single person in that government) is beyond my comprehension. I understand the arguments about Fake News and all, but still, who volunteers to surrender their rights?

Years ago, the Democrat Party was the party of big government with less and less concern for the Constitution of the United States. The Republican Party, the home for Constitutional Conservatives, stood a bit more for the Constitution. However, that was years ago.

Now, the Democrat Party lauds Socialism on a daily basis. The Republican Party has completely disregarded Benjamin Franklin’s warning  about trading a sense of safety for a loss of rights. They are now left of center in the political spectrum, with no need of Constitutional Conservatives. To the GOP, Conservatives are great for donations, but they should just keep their mouths shut!

The Conservative voice hasn’t been stifled only by the Republicans. Most of Social Media also silences their opinions, since most of those opinions run counter to the ultra-progressive views they themselves hold. In fact, Progressives are so one-sided, they want to silence anyone to their right, which obviously includes the Republicans.

Since the Democrat Party has already embraced Socialism, I can see them supporting government control over the media. Let’s face it; Socialism is government control- of everything! Because the Republican Party is making a very slow slide toward bigger government, I can understand some percentage of them giving up rights. I think, or hope. almost half is high. Ultimately, thank goodness for the 36% who oppose this terrible idea! I applaud them, for I stand with the US Constitution!