Bernie vs Hillary

   All the democratic news now is concentrated on the race between Bernie and Hillary for the nomination.  All the polls show Hillary having the black vote all locked up.  I have many encounters with black voters here in Texas and I find this just isn't so.  To a person they all say they will vote for Bernie.

    Yesterday, the driver for the transportation company that took me to see my doctor  compared  the two candidates to football teams.  Hillary stays on the ground and is content to gain a few yards at a time and occasionally score a field goal.  Bernie throws the long ball that results in touchdowns more often than not.  Incidentally, both the driver and my doctor are black, both support Obama and Bernie Sanders.

    As I write this, a note just popped up on my screen that Justice Scalia has died.  That leave the Supreme Court divided at 4 and 4.  Obama gets another pick and republicans will try their best to block anyone he nominates.  The Koch brothers stand ready to buy another Clarence Thomas.  One justice bought and paid for is more than enough.  Everybody knows that Thomas and his wife are nothing but shills for the Koch Tea Party.
     We shall see. 

Women

     These views and statements are strictly my own.   I can't cite any academic studies or authorities to back up my observations.  I've been thinking about women and cops.  Police forces are generally predominately male.  A great many of them are veterans who were taught to kill people without guilt.  A pacifist soldier is not of much use for war in which we were usually engaged until Obama came along and injected some government sanity.  Everybody wonders why so many cops kill black people.  As a pastor once said "our chickens have come home to roost."  And so they have.
     It's my opinion that veterans should never work in the field.  In fact, we should have a police corps  completely composed of non-veteran women.  A woman is capable of doing whatever a man can do as far as dealing with people and keeping the peace.  I personally witnessed a lady cop put a would be assaulter on the ground in handcuffs before he realized his mistake.  All women cops should be continually trained in martial arts.  And their gun is a great equalizer against most other weapons.
      Male police should be relegated to inside station work only, booking prisoners and such.  All work as jailers should be continually monitored by several video cameras covering all areas including rest rooms.  Being in jail negates your right to privacy to insure your protection from jailers or other inmates.  As I said at the outset, just my opinions.
     

Obnoxia

 


     There are some people who by their very nature are obnoxious to most other people.  Among them, I name what I call doorstep evangelists. The opening line is often "have you heard the good news about Jesus?"  I dare say that unless the person is a clone of Helen Keller, they have heard about Jesus.  Too many people have heard, claim to follow Him and don't have the slightest intention of carrying out any of His suggestions. Especially about the poor and money. They feel like all they have to do is be saved and that's enough.  Never admit to not having been saved.  They take that as a sign they need to do it immediately because my soul will be lost were I to drop dead in such a state.  The best defense is to claim Catholicism as your faith.  They give up and leave fast.  For some reason they are afraid Catholics may be struck by lightening bolts from God and they might be hit by accident.
     Right behind the religion freaks are ex-smokers.  At least their rancor is directed toward anyone who emits the faintest odor of a tobacco product.  Their criticism is "I quit why don't or won't you?" conveniently forgetting the numerous times they tried and failed.  They are hypocrites by telling people to just quit like they did.  It is never so easy as they claim.  I smoked for many years and every time the price went up, I tried and failed.  Finally I developed an incurable respiratory disease that would kill me quickly unless I stopped smoking.  When the price was my life. Cigarettes lost.  And even then it wasn't easy.  So I never criticize someone for a smoking habit.    

                       




























































































































































status.  Never admit to not having been saved.  They take that as a sign they need to do itimmediately because my soul will be lost were I to drop dead in such a state.  The best response is to claim Catholicism as your faith.  They give up and leave fast.  For some reason they are afraid Castholoc

Chronic

      Chronic is both a noun and an adjective.  The noun is a variety of kick-ass marijuana .  The adjective refers to a condition that is both persistent and progressive like the copd  I cope with.  I've been told I should write about it. My question is why?  First, I don't write documentaries. My interests and thoughts are all focused outward, seldom inward.  A quick look at Google show me that most people have no such reticence.  I notice people writing personal blogs about anything regarding their health and bodies.  They write about anything from cancer to the heartbreak of psoriasis.  From their dandruff to their hemorrhoids to their athletes foot, nothing is off-limits.
     I think concentrating on some infirmity makes it worse.  We are blessed where I live with an ersatz Donald Trump who continually blows his own horn.  The more we pay attention the worse he gets. When we  ignore him he goes away.  A chronic condition won't go away,  but it's  effect is often mitigated.
                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Reason

    Around holidays at the year's end, people run around saying "Jesus is the reason for the season."  Around January when Congress reconvenes, President Lyndon Johnson always cajoled them with "come, let us reason together."  In these modern times it's "now is the season for the reason."
     It's time for the leaders and possible future leaders of this country to use common sense and reason rather than divisive methodology to devise future plans and paths for the country.  This latter course can only lead to stalemate and inertia. Moving backward instead of forward to a brighter vision.  Teachers often the example of water glass filled to the halfway mark.  Depending on a viewers perception and attitude, the glass is either half empty or half full.  A democrat will probably say half full and filling while a republican will say half empty and draining.  Their conflicting views  will be on display this weekend  when party debates are held. Check back Monday  

Clown Car

     The republican clown Volkswagen is parked in South Carolina tonight.  Don't know yet how many players we will see tonight and how many might have fallen off on the way over.
     Turns out only Rand Paul figured out that keeping up with this bunch of losers and used his demotion to the Santorum forum to save face, stay home and quit wasting billionaire's money  Without realizing it, Rand just proved himself more intelligent than the rest of the field.  The rest stayed to make fools of themselves for the next hour or two.  It started at 8:00 PM.  How long it will run I don't know because I realized I was wasting time I could use to watch my lawn grass grow or watch the traffic light change colors so often on the street corner.  Both more edifying than watching a convention of Pinocchio's competing to prove they can grow the longest nose at the  party.
     If you were able to stomach all the misinformation, errors and outright bald faced lies to make it to the closing bell, you have earned my heartfelt admiration.   

Coming of Age

      I've been reading about coming of age rituals in the world.  I notice in third world countries, such rituals nearly always involve pain and mutilation of body parts with a lot of blood and scarification.  Circumcision is common but uncommonly performed on adolescent boys instead of infants.  Very painful.  Especially so if performed with a ceremonial dull knife.  I never understood the biblical god's obsession with penises and foreskins.  Did he feel like it was a mistake to construct them together.  If it takes losing mine to prove my manhood, I'll have to pass.  I'll just have to live with Arnold's judgement of being a girly-man.
      When a male Jewish boy turns 13 he is eligible for Bar Mitzva in which he is formally inducted into manhood after which he can read from the Torah at synagogue services or become one of the participants in any ritual or service requiring a certain number of men.  Probably the most painful thing about it is learning to read and speak Hebrew.  The best thing is at the reception when relatives bring gifts like savings bonds and envelopes stuffed with money in the higher denominations,
     In rural Texas where I grew up there is one sure signal that boyhood is over and the fact of his majority is reached and recognized by his father.  Whenever there was an event involving a number of females, the men would go in a circle behind the barn or some other secluded spot.  Someone invariably produced a bottle of whiskey and someone else a bottle of seven-up for a chaser.  I was in college before learning you could mix the whiskey and chaser together and get a smoother drink. The two libations would pass around the circle.  After my dad drank, he handed them to me instead of reaching  over me to pass the bottles on.  It was a silent signal to me and all the others I was now a man.  I will never forget the taste that burned my throat so bad, tears leaked from both my eyes and I was so grateful for the chaser and so grateful that I didn't throw up.  That was coming of age in small town Texas.