The Great Reset...Act 1

Donald Trump lost and Joe Biden is going to be the President of The United States of America.  Trump lost because Biden got more votes.  Biden got more votes because the Democrats did a better job of getting their voters out this time than they did in 2016.  Mail-in ballots made a big difference.  In some states the process might have been highly questionable but was indeed legal according to the state.  And now the highest court in the land has said let it be.

 

So Biden won.  In some places, Democrats probably cheated a bit more than the Republicans did in order to “save the nation from four more years of Trump”.  Any means to an end, that sort of thing.  But “cheating” or doing whatever you can get away with in order to win an election is as American as apple pie.   It’s been going on forever and will continue to go on in the future.  We can put up all sorts of barriers, but when it comes down to it…a lot of votes are bought and sold in marketplace.  Always have been, always will be.

 

Besides, what is a “fair” election anyway?  Misinformation and money spent in the right places tend to determine the outcome of most elections.  Occasionally, the candidate who should win takes it for granted and the upset occurs (2016).  Sometimes things are so bad that the party in power has no chance of winning (2008).   But, increasingly big money and big media and big tech pick the winner in the election of a President.   

 

Make no mistake, big money was tired of Trump.  I’m not talking about the average business or even big business.  I’m talking about the really big money, global money.  And the “Globalists Cartel” was done with Trumpism.  Nationalism and America First doesn’t work well for the Globalists.  And for those who have spent decades learning to navigate “The Swamp” to their advantage, there is no upside in seeing it drained. 

 

Collectively big money, big media and big tech have a different vision for the future of America and for The World.   Trump and his supporters are seen as the crazy old aunts and uncles who clutch their purses and rattle the change in their pockets while talking about the way things used to be and all that’s wrong these days.  Furthermore, they represent a roadblock to The Great Reset.  For Globalists, The Great Reset means rebooting the world in order to address the existential threat of climate change while also creating more fair and equitable social and economic systems.   Welcome to Postmodernism 2.0.  It is no longer a matter of ideas and beliefs, it’s about action. 

 

The real question becomes, who’s in charge?  Who will decide what needs to be done to “save the planet” from the pending climate catastrophe?  Who gets to decide what is fair and equitable and how those outcomes are achieved?  Who decides how we pay for The Great Reset?  And The Great Reset will require power and control.  Who decides how much freedom and privacy is allowable?  

 

Freedom isn’t perfect either.  But history would tell us that it beats the alternative.  Beware The Great Reset.

 

“For the Left, tolerance does not mean tolerance.  It means first, acceptance.  And second, celebration. That is totalitarianism: You not only have to live with what you may differ with, dear citizen, you have to celebrate it or pay a steep price”. – Dennis Prager

At A Distance

 

Like the rest of the world, I am so ready for this pandemic to come to an end.  I want people to travel again, to visit family and friends.  I want church to be like it should be with fellowship, hugs and handshakes. I want to see stadiums filled with cheering fans. Let’s get back to living.

 

But, with that said, I must admit that I don’t miss the things that most people have missed during 2020.  I have always been a loner.  An only child who did not need others for entertainment.  A child who enjoyed playing with other kids but did not need them.  As I grew older, I loved sports and was a good teammate, but always needed my space.  I need long drives by myself with just music and my thoughts.  I need time to read and to sleep, both being the ultimate escapes for me.

 

As a student, nothing was more draining for me than “group projects”.   Ok, let’s meet, assign the tasks and get on with it.  Everyone do their job and we’ll be fine.  But that’s not how it works is it?  It always takes twice as long as it should and is seldom done well.  The only people who like group projects are little dictators, cheerleaders and slackers who have no issue with letting others do the heavy lifting.  The rest of us, even those who aren’t loners, despise group projects.  

 

As an adult in the business world, one does what one must do to succeed.  And that means meetings and committees and other peoples' problems by the bushel.  But, that’s the job.  So one compartmentalizes and forges ahead, hopefully, with at least a few relatively capable and trustworthy people around them. 

 

And now as an even older adult, I have been working remote for some years.  Constantly on the phone, or emailing, or texting…busy and interacting with a lot of people from all over the country.  I meet more new people daily than I ever did during my years managing transportation companies.  I like the action, the variety and most of all I like talking to people about things that really matter…whom they should hire... or should they go to work for this or that company.  Even more I like the fact that no one is standing at my door.  And if the phone rings, most of the time, I do not have to answer it at that moment.  The same for emails and text messages.  Usually they can wait, if only for a few minutes.  And, when the day is over no one is pressing me to go do something, drink something, eat something or discuss something which is most often pointless and of no consequence.

 

So, indeed I like my time and my space.  It is not a positive trait for anyone aspiring to high position and a major reason why I “under-achieved” for most of my career.  The ladder is crowded and you cannot climb it alone.  I do not miss the ladder.

 

When this pandemic is over they say we will have a new normal.  I think it will look a lot like the old normal.  More people will work from home, so there may be a bit less traffic for a while.  Business travel will be slow to rebound as companies have discovered that so much of that expensive travel was unnecessary in the first place.  But everything else will fill up quickly.  Holiday, vacation and weekend travel will explode.  Those restaurants, bars, theaters and assorted other gathering spots that did not go out of business will be packed with happy patrons.  Free at last, free at last.

 

But, those of us who prefer to walk alone will not be joining you.  So by all means, please celebrate your happiness and your return to the freedom of gathering and rubbing elbows, nibbling from one another’s plates, singing, dancing, drinking or praying to the gods you have chosen.  You can have my seat.  I will be elsewhere, at a distance, thankful and quite happy not to be there.

"He liked to get off by himself, a mile or so from camp, and listen to the country, not the men."

-Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove

 

 

The Swamp Fights Back

Memo to Donald Trump, The Trump Team and other Trump Loyalists: 

The Presidential Election is over. I am not a Trump Loyalist, but he did get my vote…again. So I guess I lost as well. But the loss was inevitable. 2016 was a fluke. Only Hillary Clinton could snatch unlikely defeat from the jaws of certain victory. 

And, in the end, it all worked out just fine. Even though Trump failed to drain the swamp, he did reveal it for what it is. Even those who hate Trump have to admit that the deck was stacked. The traps were set and he stepped into every one of them. Yet along the way he put the rest of the world on notice that a large segment of America wasn’t going to take it anymore. Bad trade deals, picking up the tab for the rest of the world’s mistakes and misadventures, bowing to environmental extremists and leaving the doors to our borders unguarded? Not anymore. Judges spinning the constitution to fit their own agendas and legislating from the bench…no longer, at least for now. 

Donald Trump was and is his own worst enemy. Take away the tweets, the nasty comments about his opponents, the lies, the lack of empathy for others…just the whole narcissistic creature that is Donald Trump and you would not have Joe Biden heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But then you would not have had Trump either. And without a global pandemic, Trump might still be getting another four years; warts, tweets and all. 

The Swamp may have fought back and turned Trump away. But in the process The Swamp confirmed what many Americans had suspected all along. Career politicians and entrenched government bureaucrats do not like change unless it is on their terms and to their benefit. And that is true for both Democrats and Republicans. The mainstream media finally went all in on their progressive agenda and without pretense showed America that objective journalism is dead. And as if to try and balance the scales, many voices on the right seemed to become even more unhinged and obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the United States becoming another Venezuela. 

The Swamp survives, but now everyone knows it’s there. And it’s full of lies and twisted half-truths. But it resides in the greatest nation on earth, perhaps the greatest that the world has ever known. Any other country would have fallen apart by now. Only the United States could be what it is and still be a great nation. Yes, we have The Swamp. But it’s our Swamp, so we have learned to live with it. Draining it would cost too much and, besides, it would only fill back up.

“It makes sense that a witch lives in a swamp” – Jordan Peterson

Let Them Eat Cake...Or Let Them Score ?

I have not yet boycotted the NFL. (I have learned to compartmentalize…headhunting will do that to a person.). So yesterday as I watched the Detroit Lions intentionally allow Atlanta to score so they could get the ball with enough time left to come back and win the game, it struck me that this is sort of how I feel about the upcoming election. 

If you have read some of my other posts, you know that I lean right. I have never been a hardcore conservative. But, it is starting to feel that way these days as the Democrats move further and further to the left. So I find myself holding my nose and voting for Republicans whom I find only slightly less awful than their Democrat opponents. 

Which brings me to the upcoming election. The almost certain "Blue Wave" that is coming will turn out to be the best outcome in the long run for Conservatives. No, I have not lost my mind. Hear me now, believe me later. First, consider the consequences of a Trump win.  It’s a long-shot, but it was a long-shot last time. Four more years of Trump will tear this country apart. The Left will move even further to the left and take more of the Middle with them. By the time we get to 2024, Republicans will have lost all credibility and millions more of their voters will be dead and gone, replaced by younger, left-leaning Progressives. Four more years of Trump could end up being replaced by a generation or two of far-left, Democratic Socialists. 

On the other hand, if the Democrats win today, the Republicans have the opportunity, the motivation and the time to hit the reset button. They would have a very real chance of gaining ground in the mid-terms and then winning the White House in 2024. The nation needs to get the Trump taste out of its mouth. But, give it four years of Biden-Harris, Pelosi, Schumer and The Squad; and we might just come to our senses. 

The power brokers, the people who really run this country, not the politicians; have no interest in Democratic Socialism or any such nonsense. But, they are smart enough to see what’s happening with Trump in the White House. They are globalists. They want free-trade and better relationships with the rest of the world. They must also respond in some way to the younger workforce’s obsessions with Social Justice and Climate Change. Virtue signaling is good for business. So they have thrown their money and their influence behind the Democrats. Let them score today while there is still enough time to win tomorrow. 

If the French had responded differently to those starving peasants back in 1789, there might not have been a French revolution or certainly not one so bloody. Marie Antionette’s infamous response of “Let Them Eat Cake” remains an ominous reminder to the rich and powerful that sometimes one has to let the opposition score and taste victory, if only for a moment. 

"Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; - the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!”- Charles Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities

Of The People

 

We are told that the upcoming election is the most important in our history.  The future of America hangs in the balance.  As if the politicians are the ones determining the country’s direction.  I’m not so sure about that.  What I am sure of is that, FOR THE POLITICIANS, this IS the most important election in their political careers. 

While the upcoming election matters, it may not matter all that much.  Since 1952 the Executive branch has had more Republicans than Democrats.  Congress has been more Democrat than Republican, although in recent years the Republicans have gained ground. (And has it really made much difference?).  Since the 50’s the Supreme Court has become decidedly more conservative.  (And, again has it really made much difference?)

News flash, POLITICIANS ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, or bring hope and change or establish a more civil discourse or solve the racial divide or cool down the planet.  Our government still represents we the people.  You may not feel like they represent you or your political party or just you and your Facebook friends.  But ultimately, we still have a government of the people and by the people.  It just may not be FOR the people.  But whose fault is that?  WE ARE THE PROBLEM...WE ARE THE PEOPLE.

The breakdown did not happen overnight. It took time, a generation or two at least.  It took time for a people to put being rich ahead of being honest.  To make being popular or famous more important than being honorable.  To pursue personal freedom and happiness at the expense of duty and responsibility.  To choose the present over the future.  Appearance over substance.  And, in the end, feelings over truth.   Plant these seeds, or just allow these seeds to be planted, and they will grow.  Provide fertile soil and a bit of fertilizer and they will grow faster and become larger. 

It’s not complicated.  When families start breaking down, when schools no longer educate and churches become just another form of entertainment or civic organization; the hard lessons that must be learned are no longer taught.  We don’t know what we don’t know.  And what we do know is either wrong or incomplete or we simply do not care. 

The next election will be a reflection of who we have become.  And either way, it will not do much to change the course of this nation.  We lost our way long ago.

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

--President Dwight D. Eisenhower

The World As It Is

 

 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’

– Numbers 14:18

Let the offspring of the wicked, never be mentioned again.
Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors;
they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.

– Isaiah 14: 20-21

Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. ²⁰ The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

-Ezekiel 18: 19-20

 

So how does it work?  Do the sins of our ancestors have consequences for us?  These Bible scriptures would seem to say yes and no.  There are several other passages on the subject that appear to say yes (Deuteronomy 5:9, Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:7).  Yet still there are others that would seem to say no (Jeremiah 31 29-30, Deuteronomy 24:16, 1 John 1:9).

If you don’t care what the Bible has to say, then I suppose it doesn’t matter.  But, if you do believe, as I do, that the Bible is the inspired Word of our Creator then it does matter.  However, I am not one of those who takes every word literally.  I don’t think God Almighty dictated the books of the Bible.  But I do consider the message to be God-breathed and the Truth.  Even when, in cases like this the message appears to be mixed.

 

So how does one reconcile these seemingly contradictory scriptures? Do we pay a price for the sins of our ancestors?  And will generations that come after us reap what we have sown?  Or is every person’s slate wiped clean when they confess their sins, repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?  To the first question, how does one reconcile these scriptures, I would answer with much prayer and discernment.  To the other three questions, the answer is yes, yes, and yes.  Yes, we pay a price for the sins of our ancestors.  Yes, those who come after us will reap what we have sown, both good and bad.  And Yes, every person’s soul may be saved by confession, repentance and following Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

But in the meantime, we live this life, for a short time, in this world as it is.  And, to a large degree this world as it is, as well as each of our own little worlds, has been shaped by those who went before us.  Increasingly, science is finding that a great deal of who and what we are is in our genes.  We can’t pick our parents, but we live with what they gave us.  And what their parents gave to them and back on down the tree, limb by limb.  That’s about as arbitrary as it gets.  Our hardware is determined before we take our first breath and see the light of day.

 

And those who raise us, be it parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters or just the village; program us to be who and what we are.  With these amazing human brains we also learn how to live, or at least survive.  We are constantly receiving and processing information, not only that which is expressed in words and ideas, but information we experience through the physical senses.  

 

Each of us is a complex, beautiful, dangerous, wonderful and tragic creation .  Made in the image of our creator, but born imperfect into a fallen world.  In God’s image with Adam and Eve’s DNA.   With the freedom and the ability to change some things in ourselves and in our world…but not always for the better.  And so, we discover fire and the wheel and that two plus two always equals four.  We create ways of communicating with each other.  We organize ourselves for mutual benefit and survival.  Yet “the apple” is always within reach.  We make war, we conquer others for the benefit and survival of our tribe.  We invent, we innovate, we take that which has been created and transform it to suit our purposes.  We make tools for good and weapons for war.  We make vessels for travel and discovery and then use them to transport others against their will to labor unwillingly on our behalf.  We make machines and generate power to run them, making our lives easier today but at what costs to our children tomorrow?

 

This world will eventually come to an end.  In the meantime, life will go on one way or the other.  What we do matters.  What we believe about what we do, or should do, or fail to do; matters.  Those who come after us may thank us or curse us for what we leave behind.  But they will not forget us, even if they try.  How will we be remembered?

Dogs and Angels Watching Over Us

"….But once upon a time, we had a real dog. His name was Barney and he was an English Springer Spaniel. The best dog ever. He moved all over the country with us and could handle just about anything or anyone. He was smart, loyal, gentle and absolutely fearless. Not counting my wife, he was my best friend. 

But when he died I wasn’t there. Why I wasn’t there is another story and it will be someone else’s to tell someday when I’m not around. But I wasn’t there when he took that long, last ride to the vet. Thankfully my wife was there and to this day she cannot stand to watch the similar scene as it plays out in the movie Marley and Me. Maybe it was for the best that I wasn’t there. I just don’t know. 

But I do believe that our dogs will be there for us when we get to heaven. And they will come running to greet us and not only love us, but forgive us for taking so long to get there." 

 -from the HeadhunterPOV post “Barney and Me” (August 2012) 

Fast forward to Saturday August 8, 2020. It’s a blazing hot afternoon in Central Texas and we are on our way back to Grayson County, driving fast on a farm-to-market road through the Texas countryside south of Rogers.  An 8 week old English Springer Spaniel puppy, also named Barney, is buried in my wife Kayla's lap, wondering when he will be released and returned to his family. Who are these people? They smell different. I want to go home.  But I do like the cool air blowing on me. 

And then I feel it, the road on the right seems to fall away. Then I see it, the dashboard instrument panel showing a diagram…41, 39, 40 and 4. Tire pressures. 4 is a problem and it’s on the front passenger tire. I’ve already slowed down from 75 to 35 and quickly go to 10 looking for a safe, flat place to get off the road. Flashers on,  I see something up ahead on the right. Baseball fields. Must be close to town. Maybe we can make it to Rogers. Nope, I can feel the rim digging into the pavement. We pull into the ballpark. The rim is ruined.  

Google says we are still two miles from town. I’m not even sure the spare has air in it.  Besides, I’m not even sure I know how to get the spare down from underneath the pick-up bed. Haven’t had to change a tire myself in twenty years. I’ll figure it out. 

My wife is less optimistic and calls her road service number as we sit in the cool truck, engine still running and A/C blowing full blast. After 10 minutes of back and forth the road service says it will be a couple of hours. Only available service will have to come out of Temple and they have other service calls ahead of us. Heat does things to tires and there are plenty of flats today. 

Kayla, who is a successful realtor and always on the go, has a Plan B.  She tells me to call the local police, not 9-1-1-. Just the regular number. Maybe they can send someone out to help. Tell them we are stranded with a new puppy. Of course, I think this is a terrible idea. But she can be persuasive and the little dog is looking at me with those puppy eyes. So I call the Rogers Police number and get transferred to the county sheriff’s department. They say no problem, they will have an officer come by as soon as possible…could be 30 minutes, could be 2 hours. 

We're in a safe place off the road, there is water and a little covered picnic table. Even restrooms. If it weren’t 105 degrees it wouldn’t be bad. At least we have a good breeze and we brought snacks. With Kayla and little Barney secure in the shade at the picnic table, I go back to the truck. I need to get to work and figure this out. How do I get this spare tire down and on the ground? It feels like it’s aired up. Maybe we’ll be lucky. By the way, where is the jack and tire tools? See the manual. 

As I am standing beside the truck thumbing through the manual,  a beat up old black Chevy Blazer pulls into the parking lot. I see one large tattooed arm hanging out of the driver’s window. And my pistol is in the truck. Should I make my move now or stay cool?

“Need some help?”, the young man attached to the tattooed arm asked.  Anyone under 40 looks young to me these days, but I reckoned him to be in his mid-20’s. 

I replied, “Well I think we’ve got it covered. Sheriff is sending someone out and we also have road service from Temple on the way.” 

“I can change that tire for you”.  He is still sitting in the old Blazer which is basically a rolling pile of junk filled with more junk. I was hoping he would say that someone from the sheriff’s department had sent him out. Apparently not.

“So you think you can do this?” 

He nodded and took off his sunglasses. “Yes sir. I do this all the time.” 

“I’ll pay you.” 

“That’s ok” he says as he lurches out of the Blazer.  He doesn't appear to have a weapon.  Maybe I can take him with my bare hands if need be.  Wish I had that pistol.

So the young man with the large tattooed arms goes to work. Finds the jack and tools under the passenger seat. Of course, that was going to be the first place I looked. Assembles the tool and extends it through a hole in the back bumper attaching it to the spare tire rack and quickly begins cranking it down. (My plan exactly). Spare tire on the ground, he goes to loosen the lug nuts. He’s strong and appears to almost bend the little single arm lug wrench that came with the pick-up. He goes and digs around in the back of the Blazer’s junk pile, finds an old four-way lug wrench and promptly begins loosening the nuts. He then sets the little jack in place, cranks it up and finishes taking off the flat tire. He mounts the spare, tightens up the lug nuts and lets down the jack. We are good to go. This one man pit crew really did know what he was doing. 

I had $25 cash in my wallet and would have probably given him $100 if I’d had it. I handed him the $25. He shook my hand and said, “My name is Milton. I’m from just up the road a piece”. 

 

“Thank you Milton, we really appreciate it. No telling how long we would have been out here. And with the new puppy we wanted to get back home.” 

“Glad I could help. Be careful.” And with that he drove away. 

My wife called the road service and cancelled the order. I called the sheriff and said someone came by, a local by the name of Milton, hoping they would say they sent him or knew him or something.  

“No sir. I don’t know of a Milton and we are still waiting for an officer to respond.” 

 “Old black, beat up Chevy blazer? Big guy, in his 20’s, tattoos?”, I asked. 

 “No sir, doesn’t ring a bell. Ya'll have a safe trip home."

When we picked up the pup earlier that morning, before we left the old breeder, she prayed over us. Prayed for a safe journey back home and “may God’s angels watch over you all”. My wife reminded me of that prayer as we drove back north. Maybe Milton was a good Samaritan or just a poor country boy hoping to pick up a few bucks. Or maybe he was something more. 

We made it home without further incident and Barney got to meet our other two dogs, small white bundles of soft curly hair only slightly larger than him, but not for long. He is adjusting, the other dogs are adjusting and we are adjusting. But, I knew it was time for one more “proper dog” before this life is over.  And he is definitely going to be a proper dog.  But if, some day, I do get another one…I think it will be a rescue dog.  And I'll be naming that one Milton.

                                                                     Barney Jr.

“…. and they will come running to greet us and not only love us, but forgive us for taking so long to get there. “ 

Hearts and Minds

“What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies.” – Thomas Cranmer


If you want to change a culture, you must change its people. And to change its people, you must change their worldview. If you’ve been around more than 40 years, you’ve been a witness to the most rapid cultural change in human history. If you’re over 60, the world you grew up in would be unrecognizable and unimaginable to those less than half your age.

For most of human history culture change has been driven by natural forces, or violence or new inventions, discoveries and break-through technology. Major climate change, floods and volcanic eruptions have forced change and adaptation throughout history. And certainly violence has been a major factor in change, often erupting in response to other change agents. Some will win and some will lose.

But in today’s world, culture change is largely a matter of ideas. Technology plays a major role in change, but it’s not at the core of what we are experiencing. Today it’s more about transforming worldviews from the inside out. Some claim this is all part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy launched and managed by a select group of global elites, or the Illuminati, perhaps with ties all the way back to Free Masonry, working behind the scenes to bring about a New World Order.

I think not. We humans just aren’t that competent. It is a conspiracy, no doubt. But it’s roots extend well-beyond the dimensions of this temporal world. And it has its own modus operandi which consists of four fundamental steps: Minimize, Criticize, Ostracize and Replace.

Whether it’s religion, politics, economics, the arts, education, medicine or science; it’s the same pattern. Sometimes it’s for the better and sometimes it’s for the worse. Sometimes it’s good in the short run, but bad in the long run. The pattern may play out in a matter of a few years or it may take several centuries. Remember the strings are being pulled by forces far outside of our time and space.

First they must minimize or discount the opposition. This is the preferred strategy when dealing with deeply rooted ideas and institutions. Christianity in the West has been going through this for over 300 years. One doesn’t replace a religion overnight or even in a generation or two. It takes time. Eventually, when the idea or institution has been minimized enough or essentially ignored (the old time preachers would say “watered-down”), it may then be criticized. Some will push back, but since there has already been some replacement in values (freedom over faith or independence over authority), the criticism will lead to more replacement (pro-choice over the right to life). Finally, when the remnant of those attached to the old ideas and values are outnumbered, they are ostracized. Their beliefs are wrong, so they are cut off (main stream media, social networks.) Now you can replace all of the old “bad” stuff with the new good stuff (equality, social justice, inclusion, reparations, clean energy and the best stuff of all…FREE stuff.).

But to make the change complete and effective, you must replace economic systems, political systems, educational systems and social systems. Consider the changes over the past 50 years in the way we educate and socialize our children. Do you think perhaps that might have something to do with the state of things in our nation today? Allow politics to be run by money and special interests and you end up with a dysfunctional system that can no longer legislate but only campaign for the next election. Increase entitlements and expand the welfare state in the name of fighting poverty and creating a “Great Society” and you end up with more people unable or unwilling to support themselves or a make positive contribution to their community.

In the later stages of replacement, they rewrite history and destroy the images of those who symbolize the “old bad stuff”. The goal is justice. And judgment day can only belong to those who got the short end of the historical stick. And so we find ourselves in the latter stages of a culture war. A war that is likely to go on until some event overshadows it. Perhaps it will be a pandemic much worse than Covid 19 or anything else humans have ever experienced. Perhaps all out nuclear or chemical warfare. What if the E.T.’s finally show up and turn out not to be so friendly. And what if the Biblical prophecies are correct? If the One who created everything in the beginning decides our time is over? Whether natural, man-made, other worldly or holy and eternal; it will be an event of epic proportions that totally transforms civilization. Make no mistake, we are racing toward the finish line and have been doing so for thousands of years. The world has always been and will continue to be a battleground…until it is no more.


“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”– Revelation 21:1

Yes It Is...No It's Not

If you want a simple illustration of modernism vs. postmodernism, look no further than this old Monty Python skit known forever as The Dead Parrot.

https://youtu.be/vZw35VUBdzo

And so we find our world today. We are not just divided on the issues. We are divided on the fundamentals of the issues. If the two characters in the Monty Python skit could just agree on whether or not the parrot is dead, they might be able to move on toward some resolution or at least a more reasonable argument. The shopkeeper might simply tell the customer that he bought the parrot as is, where is and he’s yours, dead or alive. No refunds. But these two combatants can’t even get to a rational argument. And in the end, when the shopkeeper realizes that the customer is not inclined to accept his repeated and obviously false claim that the parrot is not really dead, he shifts gears and goes into a song about a being a cross-dressing lumberjack. Classic Monty Python. (You can find the rest of the skit on YouTube as well.)

For most of recorded human history, we have believed that Truth is knowable and it is reasonable to consider Truth as objective and binding upon us, at least until we have new information and conclude that it is no longer reasonable to consider some previously accepted idea as Truth. Thus we no longer believe that the earth is flat nor that it is the center of the universe. Viruses and bacteria cause illness not demons. There is no man in the moon.

When the Age of Englightenment came along, even those who believed in a Higher Power and things not seen, made room for Science and Reason. Both sides believed in the idea of objective Truth. They might disagree on the ultimate authority of Truth with regard to certain ideas, i.e. sin, the immortal soul, life after death, etc. But they could have honest debate and discussion about such matters. Science and Reason have even become part of modern day Christian apologetics. If you really want to think deeply and learn about such things check out John Lennox or William Craig Lane.

But now, we find ourselves so divided that we can no longer have a rational conversation about our differences. The postmodernists start from the premise that Objective Truth is unknowable and there is no ultimate authority. Neither a Higher Power nor Science and Human Reason have the authority to determine what is true for the individual. So we send our young people out into the world with no map, no compass…just hashtags…#UBU…#FindURtruth.

As a Boomer, I look back and cringe at the phrase: “If it feels good do it”. Like a lot of us back then, I did it and discovered that it was just one more version of the original lie: “Did God Really Say…?”. And now the lie has become “If it feels right, it’s true.” Same old lie, same old result.

This is how “the new old lie” works these days. First it has the loudest voice. It controls the narrative. The media, the academy, arts & culture…they embrace it and they proclaim it. They also enforce it and punish those who may see things differently. This gives them the power to describe and define THE PROBLEM. Systemic racism is a good example. They go on to diagnose the problem, the symptoms and the causes (inequality, the criminal justice system, white privilege...etc). They claim the right to determine how best to solve the problem (defund police departments, pay reparations, mandate equitable outcomes socially, politically and economically). And lastly, they demand immediate implementation of their solutions to the problem (protests, violent riots, take over neighborhoods, boycott or just burn down businesses, rewrite history, tear down monuments and deconstruct the meta-narratives which are foundational to the free and open society that allows them to do just that.)

Now to be clear, there is some truth in what is being said, quite a bit in some cases. Systemic racism is a problem. In fact, it may well be THE PROBLEM. The symptoms and causes certainly include issues such as inequality, our criminal justice system and white privilege. But it’s not only those things. Many of those who have studied this, including leading black scholars, point to our welfare system and predatory politicians whose efforts keep black communities down and out… and dependent. When we move on to solutions, the divergence of opinion widens. Reform law enforcement. Absolutely. Some say we need better training and better pay for law enforcement, not more after school programs and basketball courts in the inner-city. Perhaps we need both. Pay reparations? Maybe it would make more sense to establish “micro-lending” programs (not the SBA). Provide incentives (subsidies) for private investors to lend money to black entrepreneurs. Maybe offer more educational support for blacks seeking higher education in the STEM fields. And our criminal justice system does need change. Poor people, not just blacks, tend to fair badly in court. And maybe it is time to change our drug laws, mandatory sentencing guidelines and how we handle non-violent lawbreakers. But when it comes to demanding change, making the case by rioting, destroying communities and attempting to wipe out any and all symbols of “white” American excellence and achievement is definitely a misguided strategy that will only alienate those who might be inclined to support your cause. And it is definitely a strategy that will inflame those most opposed to any changes.

But in 2020 there is no debate, no discussion of alternatives, no point/counter-point. The only “facts” that matter are the ones that fit "the narrative", even if those facts are anecdotal at best. Anything else is quickly dismissed as racist or worse. If one is not among “the oppressed” or an ally of the oppressed they have no voice and no way of knowing what is really true. THE TRUTH can only be understood and expressed by those who are WOKE. Truth has become a one-way street with only one lane.

Throughout history when people divide over fundamental existential issues the ultimate result is bloodshed, most often on a massive scale. Millions died during the Protestant vs Catholic wars in Europe that went on for over 200 years. There is the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Civil War. Then the Fascism and Communism of the last century which took more lives than all previous wars and conflicts combined. We are at a historic crossroad. We have two choices. Listen to one another and work together to solve our problems or tear each other apart. When you hit your knees tonight, pray that we listen to one another and work this thing out.

Talk About It or Just STFU?

Ok, which is it? Can white people talk about racism or should they just STFU? If they are allowed to talk about racism but don’t follow “the script”, should they just STFU? If they are inclined to perhaps comment negatively about some things like rioting, looting or attacking police officers should they just STFU? If they acknowledge their own racism and admit to white privilege without begging or offering to buy forgiveness may they speak or should they just STFU?

You see I believe that rational human beings have the capacity to hold more than one idea in their minds at the same time. Even ideas that conflict with each other. Freedom/Law and Order. Free Will/ Determinism. Judgment/ Mercy. Taste Great/Less Filling. And so it is with most issues, especially the big ones. Issues where we find it difficult to distinguish between cause and effect, disease and symptom, cure and treatment.

So with that, I shall talk about racism. Talk about it not from ‘A’ white man’s perspective, but from “THIS” white man’s perspective. This white man who grew up in Texas and is old enough to remember white and black water fountains. This white man who was told by his parents not to use “the N-word”. That “they” preferred to be called “colored” or “Negro”. “They” were good people and God loved them, too. But they were different and it was just better for us to remain separated as much as possible. This white man who remembers the time when Martin Luther King was assassinated. A time when this white man’s father told him about running off “N-word” looters who were trying to break into the back of his truck. This white man who worked side by side and sometimes under the supervision of black men in his late teens and early 20’s. This white man who even in the 80’s while living in South Carolina saw old black men step off the sidewalk and look away when a white woman walked by. This white man who spent his management career in an industry where “management” was predominately male and very white.

This white man admits to his racism. I wish it was not there. I know it’s wrong. I do see color before I see the person. And I expect most people do, regardless of their own color. We are all shaped by our experiences, our thoughts and our hearts. My racism doesn’t cause me to dislike, much less hate black people. But it does lead me to think of them differently, sometimes even to the point of feeling sorry for them. And often pity does more damage than hate. But I am trying to do better, to be better.

This white man has always understood that in our culture whites have more privilege than blacks. That’s undeniable. It is foundational in Western civilization. We brought it with us from Europe and institutionalized it with slavery and the class system that was imposed afterward. It is what it is in every sense of the word.

So what do we do about it? We can reform law enforcement and the criminal justice system. We should do so. But that’s only changing the way we treat the disease. It only makes the pain more bearable and perhaps opens a few more doors for those who no longer get locked up and can find their way to a better life. The same can be said for “after school programs” and more “recreational facilities”. We can take down statues of confederate generals and notable historical figures who said something wrong or failed to say something right. We can all take a knee and stop singing “The Eyes of Texas”. (Yes, that is now on the “to be banned” list). But, if it does not translate into better Education and better Employment for more people of color, real change, lasting change won’t come.

Education and Employment lead to Empowerment. It takes longer to clean up a mess than it does to make one. Racism has been going on for centuries around the world and our version of it has been here since the nation began. We’ve taken some steps over the past 50+ years to level the playing field and some have benefited. We see black people in careers and living in neighborhoods that would have been unthinkable not that long ago. But we’ve also allowed, if not enabled, things to get worse for many of those left behind in poverty with little hope of a good education or a good job. Whatever steps we take moving forward, if they are not directed toward providing better education, and that includes education and training that prepares people to earn a decent living (and I’m not talking about minimum wage), then we will fail. We are just rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

When Blacks do get “in the game” we have to lift the glass ceiling. And not just symbolically. It’s nice to have Blacks on the Board of Directors, but how many are in the C-suite leading the enterprise? I’m not talking about tokenism or promoting unqualified people. (There are already too many unqualified white guys at the C-level). I’m saying there has to be a real pathway for talented black managers to move beyond middle management or even division leadership roles. There is room at the top.

Beyond Education and Employment, hearts and minds have to change. As a Christian I have my beliefs about how that happens. Others will seek a different path. We don’t have to agree with each other to respect each other. So whatever works for you, just get right in your head and in your heart.

(And I pray that God forgives me for the ‘STFU’…but sometimes you just need to get the point across).

Essential Work

Even in the midst of this unprecedented pandemic, when so many citizens are on “lock down”, the government recognized that some work was essential and must go on. But now as the economy sinks deeper into recession, what becomes of this essential work and, more importantly these essential workers? Is essential work still essential when demand for that work dries up or there is no money to pay those essential workers?


These are the broad categories of essential industries the government identified:

Health Care
Law Enforcement, Public Safety and First Responders
Food and Agriculture
Energy
Public Works
Transportation and Logistics
Critical Manufacturing (all the supplies and equipment required to produce and support essential goods and services).
Financial Services
Community based government operations and essential services
Chemicals
Defense Industry

There are much longer lists of specific jobs under each of these industry categories. What really strikes me is that we have a lot of essential work to do all across this nation. These industries represent a huge chunk of our economy.

Funny thing though, the economy. Someone provides a product or service in exchange for money in order to purchase a product or service someone else is providing. They may purchase it directly or perhaps it comes as a result of the taxes they pay or someone else pays. But, sooner or later, someone pays for it. Even if the government prints more money and covers it by borrowing from some other country, someone pays for it…always. And when people (mostly all of those “non-essential” workers) cannot or will not work in order to provide certain products or services, either because of lock downs or just being afraid to go back to work or their employer cannot afford to pay them; the economy starts to break down. And when these same people cannot or will not purchase certain products or services, either because of lock downs or fear or because they don’t have enough money; the economy starts to break down even more.

As more people behave this way, the economic breakdown accelerates. It doesn’t take long before even some of the most essential workers lose their jobs. We’ve already seen layoffs and furloughs in the healthcare industry. A large portion of our “essential” energy industry is in the tank. Some transportation and logistics providers are laying off thousands of “essential workers” even as others are adding people, usually in lower paying jobs. State and local governments are going broke and will be forced to make cuts in “essential” services and “essential” workers. Fewer supplies and less equipment will be purchased and, as a result, many so-called critical manufacturers will be forced to eliminate “essential” workers. And so it goes.

We all agree there are essential jobs that must be done, even during a viral pandemic. But what about the so-called non-essential jobs? There are a lot of things the world can do without for some period of time…such as headhunters. But over time, even non-essential work adds value. All work that provides a product or service that people need, or even just want, is valuable… even if it’s not essential. And those “essential” workers ultimately need us non-essential workers to buy from and sell to.

We are now faced with tough questions. Is the risk worth the reward? What price are we willing to pay for safety? What level of risks are we prepared to accept for freedom and prosperity? Even if we come up with treatments for Covid-19, they won't be cures. And a vaccine will not provide universal protection. It will be a big step forward in reducing the risk, but it will not eliminate it. If, in fact, Covid-19 is more contagious and more deadly than the flu, once we go back to business as usual we could still see thousands of Covid-19 deaths annually, even within an immunized population,

Clearly, we can’t go back to “business as usual” today. But we do have to get back to some reasonable and sustainable level of business activity while managing the risks as best we can. Because from an economic perspective, all work is valuable and all workers should be valued….even those who are not “essential”.

God, Football and Hair

I live in Texas. As the saying goes everything is bigger in Texas. None are bigger than God, Football and Big Hair. The Governor is now allowing churches to open with only “recommended” guidelines. A few never closed and several are planning to open this Sunday or, at least, next Sunday…Mother’s Day. Mothers are also a big deal in Texas. From day one young Texans are taught to worship God and love their Mamas. More progressive churches (meaning liberal, watered-down preachin’ churches) are erring on the side of caution and pushing their openings back a few weeks, at least until Phase 2 of the Great Re-Opening is approved. If oil prices don’t rebound it will be their fault.

Sports, in particular football, have been totally disrupted by this pandemic. Where I live, some still think it’s all fake news, just a bad flu season the liberal media is using against Trump. Why didn’t we have spring football like always? And baseball and track. We didn’t even get to finish the state basketball tournament. Now they are saying we might not have a football season. No Friday Night Lights? No College Game Day? Just more proof this is all part of a Chinese master plan to bring down America.

And then there is hair. Women's hair is a big deal in Texas. It used to be literally big…”the bigger the hair, the closer to God” sort of big hair. That’s not a thing anymore. But the hair business is still a big deal in Texas, for men and women. But especially for women. And the Governor did not include hair salons in his Phase 1 re-opening. Not one of his better political decisions. However, not all has been lost. Our neighbors on the ugly side of the Red River did re-open their salons. How bad do Texas women want to “git there hair dun”? Bad enough to drive up to Oklahoma and let “those people” cut and style and color their hair. Places like Durant and Ardmore and Lawton are enjoying a financial windfall as Texas women flock up to the Sooner State.

Even though “the curve” in Texas has yet to flatten, the total numbers have remained well below original projections. We have plenty of room in our hospitals for the sick and more than enough space to bury the dead. So we will get on with our lives even it means driving up to Oklahoma to “gitcher hair dun”. And a lot Texans will argue that we should have never stopped living our lives in the first place. You just don’t mess with Texas…and your sure don’t mess with God, Football and Hair.

Mitigate This

Mitigation: the process or result of making something less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, or damaging

Breaking News:

U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods.

The outbreak set up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades.

Retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992, after falling by a revised 0.4% in February, the Commerce Department said.

We are almost certainly in a Recession.

So what you’re telling me, Captain Obvious, is that when businesses are closed, when people are ordered to shelter-in-place, many of whom are now unemployed or expect to be so very soon; when a global pandemic occurs and we take drastic measures in response…what you’re telling me is that the economy implodes. Who could have imagined such a thing?

We are where we are and second guessing will do no good. We’ll never know how many would have died if we had taken less drastic measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. But we do know that more would have died. We are also starting to experience the consequences of those drastic measures. And make no mistake, those consequences will be deadly for many who would likely have survived the virus. We just don’t know how many and never will. The lives saved by shutting down the economy vs. the lives that will be lost from doing so….unknowable.

So we chose to mitigate the spread of the virus. Now we must decide how to mitigate the damage that mitigation has created. Whatever we do, it’s a no win situation. Start opening up the economy in early May and COVID-19 outbreaks are inevitable. Wait until June or July, there is still no guarantee that outbreaks will not occur and the economic damage may become irreversible. Taking half-measures to re-open the economy yet still contain the spread might be the worst of all options…or it might be the best. We don’t know.

What we do know is that we cannot wait months for a vaccine. That is not an option. Without a vaccine, whatever action we take comes with deadly risks. We are reaching a tipping point where we have to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. Just as viral spread is exponential, economic collapse expands exponentially. But there is no flattening curve and no herd immunity when it comes to the economy. Those who lose jobs and life savings do not develop antibodies that protect them and restore them to economic well-being. Many will fall and never get back on their feet.

Whatever we do will be politicized, especially in this election year. Politicians, being who they are, will choose the half-measures option. Open up enough of the economy to say they are “opening the economy”, but maintain enough restrictions to protect “the most vulnerable among us”. With the damage already done and without a vaccine, even those who have jobs will not fully return to normal activities or spending money. We may be able to stop the economic free fall, but recovery depends on that vaccine. Whether COVID-19 is really a monster or we have made it a monster, in today’s world it is a monster and that’s all that matters. Mitigation will only get us so far. Find the cure or learn to live with the monster.

After COVID-19

“Nature doesn't ask your permission; it doesn't care about your wishes, or whether you like its laws or not. You're obliged to accept it as it is, and consequently all its results as well.”- Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Covid-19 Pandemic is like nothing we have seen in our lifetime. In terms of global impact, certainly not since WWII or the Great Depression. Those two events not only had devastating impact when they occurred, but went on to change the way people lived afterwards. The Great Depression brought New Deal style government intervention into our economy in ways never seen before. It also helped shape a generation of people who valued hard work and saving for the future. WWII made America a truly great global power for the first time and ushered in an era of prosperity and growth for the middle class. From the ashes of WWII and with the looming threat of Communism, the United States became the world’s leading force for economic expansion and globalization. But this all came with a price and we’ve been paying it for the last 40 years, mostly by going deeper in debt. After giving the world the shirts off our backs, we’ve been borrowing money for decades in order to buy those shirts back, along with sneakers, televisions, smart phones and automobiles.

And now we are going through another life-changing event. We will get through it. There will be new and better ways to treat and comfort the sick. Ultimately there will be a vaccine. We will put this behind us. But it will be a long time, perhaps a generation or two before it is forgotten… or at least until the next crisis comes along. And in its aftermath, things will change.

Here is a list of ten things which I predict are likely to happen after this pandemic is over.

_1 We will certainly be better prepared for something like COVID-19 in the future. It may not be enough and we may face something totally different. But there will be massive investment in preparation for everything we can imagine and, perhaps even for things unimaginable.

_2 The Federal government will take a more active role in healthcare. Some version of national healthcare or Medicare for all will be a reality before the end of this decade.

_3 The inevitable decline of brick and mortar retail will accelerate. What was likely to happen over the next ten years will happen within five.

_4 There will be a significant increase in telecommuting. Many workers will have demonstrated that they can do their jobs just as well from home, if not all the time, at least most of the time or often enough so as not to be needed in the office every day. This in turn will have major implications for where and how people choose to live, how often they trade cars and all of the services that rely on the masses commuting to work every day (fuel, food, parking, auto repair, office space, etc .).

_5 Business travel may never go back to the way it was before COVID-19. More people will realize that many of those in-person meetings weren’t really all that necessary, certainly not worth the time and expense and that most of what needs to be accomplished can be done just as well via video conference.

_6 International travel will be more restrictive and closely monitored. Be prepared for longer lines, more questions and someone taking your temperature.

_7 Western industrialized nations will insist on having more control over critical supplies, equipment and information; especially that which is related to healthcare, technology, energy and national defense.

_8 Hand-washing, social distancing, crowd-avoidance...a lot of people will keep doing these things long after the pandemic has passed. How that translates to attendance at concerts, sporting events, conventions, etc. remains to be seen. But my guess is that it may be a few years before we return to hugging the person next to us.

_9 More people will start eating at home and eating healthy. When restaurants reopen there will be a surge of returning customers who just need to get out and eat at their favorite places. But many will have found that preparing meals at home can be a lot healthier and a whole lot more affordable.

_10 There will be major reforms in the way senior care facilities are managed. Most people, especially those who have had an elderly family member in one of these places, already knew that there are often issues with the quality of care. But now after COVID-19 and with an aging population, most of whom vote, there will be plenty of pressure to clean up this industry.

These items are just the tip of the iceberg. There will be many more. That’s why it’s called a life-changing event.

Going Over The Cliff

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic several nations have taken the approach that the best way to deal with this virus is to allow their people to develop immunity, the immunity of the herd. Isolate and protect the most vulnerable citizens, but otherwise allow business as usual for the most part. They have imposed some restrictions, but nothing along the lines of what we are seeing in the United States and the majority of European countries. Great Britain took this approach for a few weeks before reaching the Reality Cliff. After looking over the edge as members of their herd starting plunging to their death, Great Britain’s leadership revised their strategy and started shutting things down.

Interesting thing though about herds and new viruses. They tend to come together forming a train that is impossible to stop. Especially if the virus is highly contagious and there is no vaccine. Sweden and Denmark continue to pursue this more relaxed approach to managing COVID-19, counting on the herd to quickly develop immunity and eventually shutdown the virus. But they are also imposing certain restrictions and my guess is those will increase in the days and weeks ahead. However, they may also find that the unstoppable train of the infected herd is already on its way to the Reality Cliff. Hopefully, these smaller, relatively healthy countries with above average healthcare networks will find a way to overcome what is coming their way.

In the meantime, the rest of us will continue to play “flatten the curve”. We also have summer heat on the way which should help in some parts of the world. But who knows what will happen as winter takes hold in the Southern hemisphere. Hopefully a vaccine is available sooner rather than later. But if it really is 12-18 months away, we may find ourselves living and dying on the curve again next winter, a herd without immunity staring over a different cliff…the one called Economic Reality.

Just Like The Flu….Only Different

I am skeptical by nature. I am just not a trusting person. I don’t trust the media to report honestly and fairly without bias. That would be any media. Their main objective is to grab the audience and keep them coming back. I don’t trust politicians, because…well, they are professional politicians. Their main objective is to get elected and re-elected…over and over. So they will say and do whatever it takes to do that. I don’t automatically trust scientists (and that would include those in medicine) because if you listen closely they always hedge their bets. They are rarely totally wrong or totally right. Reality is usually somewhere in the middle between the media’s worst case scenario and the scientists’ best case scenario. So when I see the world turning out the lights and hiding under the bed over COVID-19, I wonder how we seem to always end up at the “worst case scenario” end of the spectrum. (Lest we forget, remember the Y2K scare?)

The CDC reports that between 3000 and 49,000 people in the United States die of flu-related complications every year. In the 1990’s it has been reported that we averaged losing 36,000 people per year to the flu. It doesn’t seem to have gone down much in the 2000s and 2010s. In the winter of 2017-2018 the CDC reported that some 80,000 people died as a result of the flu. The highest death toll in 40 years! They also tell us that flu vaccinations are at best 40-60% effective in keeping someone from getting the flu. Sounds to me like we’ve been playing Russian roulette with flu viruses for a long-time.

So why the panic this time? What makes COVID-19 different? First of all, it’s the unknown factor. We don’t know how contagious it is? We don’t know how long it survives in the air or on surfaces. The experts are telling us this virus is a tough little survivor that doesn’t die quickly, remaining virulent for hours in the air and for days on certain surfaces. We don’t know the mortality rate for COVID-19 because we don’t know how many people actually have it. And we don’t have enough test kits to find out. And, oh by the way, we do know that we don’t have a vaccine for it.

Secondly, the media is streaming 24/7 coverage of COVID-19 and we are lapping it up. Never have so many heard so much, yet know so little about something that might kill them. I don’t fault the media nor do I fault the audience. Inquiring minds want to know. I’m as bad as anyone. I am constantly checking for updates. So we all know that this thing is out there… and we don’t know how to stop it. Scary.

Third, like most things these days, it’s being politicized. Even in normal times, the opposition party will blame the President for anything that goes wrong or might go wrong or might have gone better if something else had been done. That’s politics. But these are not normal times and we’re in an election year. There is literally nothing that Trump can do or say that will not be immediately and harshly criticized by Democrats and most of the media. He is also his own worst enemy and has lost a lot of credibility by too often not telling the truth and…well…by just being Trump. So the COVID-19 fire is constantly being refueled by anti-Trump political rhetoric.

Next, our culture has changed. We are increasingly fearful and overly protective. Much has been written about “helicopter” parenting, safe-spaces and emotional triggers. Anxiety and depression are at all time highs among teenagers and college students. There is a reason why so many young people are ready to give up on our way of life and embrace socialism. It’s a cry for help. And it’s not totally unwarranted. But that’s a whole other discussion. The point here is that in this climate of fear and anxiety, something like COVID-19 is always going to land on our doorstep wrapped as the worst case scenario.

And finally, there is Risk Management and Liability. No company, organization or institution can afford not to take every precaution to protect people. Especially, if other companies, organizations or institutions are doing so. Want to get sued for millions of dollars and lose. Go ahead and have that sporting event, or conference, or concert, or pressure your employees to come to work when they don’t feel good. Then some COVID-19 related death is connected back to your actions. Good luck with that. We live in a highly litigious society. Nuclear verdicts (settlements of tens and hundreds of millions) are becoming commonplace. This is big business and certain law firms are always looking for new targets. Mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic is prime.

So are we over-reacting? Not really. All things considered, we are responding rationally to an irrational situation. It is what it is. We cannot undo the media overkill. There is no stopping the political warfare. We are a fearful and anxious nation that no longer hopes for the best but always expects the worst. And there are those among us who have found ways to monetize that fear and anxiety and we will all end up paying for it.

Then there is COVID-19 itself. It really is a thing. And it might just be really bad, a lot worse than the flu viruses that we already know about. Some of which are resistant to our annual vaccinations and kill 30,000 of us every year. Or maybe it’s not worse. But why take the chance? I think I’ll go wash my hands and just stay home.

Not Pets

“Animals are not pets – they are not your cheap burglar alarm, or something which allows you to go out for a walk. They are not ours as decorations or toys, they are living beings. A dog is a feeling, whole individual, with emotions and interests, not something you ‘have’ ‘. - Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Ok, I am on the record as a dog-lover. I love my dogs and, as much as dogs are capable of it, I think they love me. At least they act like they do. But they have a pretty great life, so it may just be an act on their part to make sure the food keeps coming, along with the ear-scratching, massages and belly-rubs. They also get to sleep in bed with my wife and I. So I am pretty sure they are onboard with being “pets”.

Ms. Newkirk goes on to say we should stop calling our pets “Pets”. Apparently words have deeper meanings, even to animals. How would you like being called a “pet”? Ms. Newkirk recommends that we call our furry friends ‘Companions’ rather than pets. Fair enough. But I think it’s even better if we call them by name. My dogs have names and they know them. They would be offended if I called them anything else.

Conservative pundits have had a good deal of fun at Ms. Newkirk’s expense saying this is taking political correctness to a silly extreme. That this is one more example of virtue-signaling progressives trying to make us feel guilty for just being human beings. Our mere existence is a threat to life on this planet and all creatures great and small.

I am inclined to give PETA and Ms. Newkirk a break. Animal rights activists have been fighting for the ethical treatment of animals since the 1800’s. And it has made a positive difference. The Brits were the first to enact legislation regarding the treatment of animals way back in 1876. In 1966, the United States finally got around to passing the The Animal Welfare Act and it has been updated and amended several times since then. We have established guidelines regarding the use of animals for medical research and testing. Most states and municipalities enforce animal cruelty statutes. And we spend billions of dollars on our pets. A lot of animals never had it so good.

Yet, we know that many animals never had it so bad. The industrialization of animal protein production is not something we want to think about. We like to think of cows grazing in green pastures, chickens running about trailed by fuzzy little chicks while the rooster sits on the fence and crows. Pigs wallowing in the mud and just being pigs. That’s pretty much what I saw as a child on my grandparent’s farm. Sure I remember animals being slaughtered and eaten. They were not romanticized and certainly not humanized. But they were respected and we gave thanks for the food they provided.

These days I try not to think too much about where that chicken breast, or hamburger or slice of bacon came from or what those animals went through in their short, single purpose existence. I rationalize it all by saying this is the only way to produce affordable food on the massive scale required to feed the world’s population. That millions of jobs and livelihoods depend on this industry. We are just doing what we have to do to survive. After all… animals are not pets.

“Here’s an assignment for my fellow Christians: Go to YouTube, search for any video of ‘slaughterhouse animal cruelty’, watch it, the whole thing, and ask yourself if that’s what God meant when He gave us dominion over animals.”
-Dr.Shenita Etwaroo”

Impeachment Super Bowl

For months now Republicans have been predicting that the Democrats’ attempt to impeach Donald Trump would backfire on them. That their case for impeachment has been without merit , totally driven by partisan politics and the culmination of their on-going efforts to overturn the results of the 2016 election.

If this were a football game, one might say it was late in game, the Democrats were behind, out of time-outs and down to their final play. Time for a Hail Mary Pass… “Witnesses go deep on two”. Hut..Hut. The long, desperation pass falls incomplete. Final score Team Trump 51, Impeachers 49. Team Trump celebrates and taunts the Impeachers and their fans. Game over…or is it?

I think not. For you see Team Trump overlooked the obvious. Impeachment wasn’t the Super Bowl. It was a preseason game. And the Impeachers may just end up winning the Super Bowl by losing this meaningless game. The Super Bowl will be played later this year in November. Team Trump will go into the big game battered and bruised by a long, brutal campaign in the Court of Public Opinion. The public is not likely to buy their excuses for not allowing more witnesses to be heard. Team Trump’s legal arguments will fall on deaf ears in the Court of Public Opinion. The Court of Public Opinion always wants the rest of the story, more witnesses, more dirt….and ultimately closure, one-way or the other.

For Team Trump the months between now and November will be a constant barrage of questions, challenges and allegations. Impeachment may officially be over, but the game is just beginning. And Team Trump is already losing.

A Party of One

The other day I took one of those “Who You Should Vote For” surveys. They ask questions about a wide variety of issues including education, science, electoral process, crime, immigration, social, economic, domestic policy, the environment, national security, transportation, foreign policy, healthcare, local politics/elections. My score ended up with a tie between Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump at the top followed by Joe Biden and Amy Klobucher. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and the rest of the free stuff fun bunch lagged way behind.

I just happen to be one of those independents who refuses to believe that either party has all the answers. I tend to consider myself more of a pragmatist than an idealist when it comes to politics. I am also inclined to question anything that is said by those on the extreme ends of the political spectrum. I know where Fox News is coming from and how it slants its reporting and commentary. Same thing for MSNBC and CNN. I gave up on the networks years ago.

My positions on taxes, climate change, gun control, welfare, same-sex marriage, abortion, immigration and most issues are a mix of conservative and progressive. If weighed out, the scales tip more toward the conservative side for sure. But I am not 100% on either side on most issues. Just a few examples:

_Taxes. I think we should reduce the size and cost of government. There is way too much waste in government, especially in the federal government. So check me as a conservative there. However, I also think we should increase taxes on the wealthy. I’m ok with carrying National Debt and when necessary over-spending for a year or two. But, we are out of control and need more revenue to bring things back in line. Plus we know that we need to spend more on education, healthcare and infrastructure.

_Right to life. I am pro-life. But I am also a pragmatist. Women will have abortions. Always have and always will. So we should make it as safe as possible. However, there should be more done to counsel, support and encourage women to go ahead and have that child. Then give it up for adoption if that’s the best option. But, if the woman chooses abortion, so be it.

I am also a pragmatist when it comes to end of life issues. Terminally ill patients should have the option of ending their lives via assisted suicide. Some will ask how I can claim to be Christian and support such an idea. I honestly do not see how you can be a Christian and not support it.

And then there is the death penalty. I am generally opposed to it, because we know that sometimes juries get it wrong. But, in certain situations, for certain crimes, I think it is justified and I support it.

So when it comes to these life and death issues…am I conservative or progressive?

_Immigration. I am not for building a wall and I think we need more immigrants, not less. So does that make me a progressive? I am also for tighter border security and more restrictions, so I guess that makes me a conservative. I am for establishing a streamlined pathway to citizenship for illegals who have been in this country and stayed out of trouble for some period of time. And we need to move quickly to grant citizenship to “Dreamers” who were born here. So I guess that makes me a progressive. But wait, I think immigrants should be required to learn the English language and the history and culture of America. I suppose that makes me a conservative.

_Guns. I own guns. I have a permit to carry. I am a gun guy. That’s about as conservative as it gets. However, I don’t think civilians need high-capacity semi-automatic weapons. Certainly not military type assault-rifles. And we need tighter regulations on buying and selling guns. So maybe I am a gun-toting progressive.

_I tend to lean left on same sex marriage, but don’t think churches should be forced to perform such marriages. Perhaps I am more of a “civil union” conservative. Live and let live. Move on.

_I am all for renewable energy, clean air and clean water. But I am also a realist and fossil fuel still offers the biggest bang for the buck. I do believe the climate is changing and we have been in a warm cycle. We have been in warm cycles before and it’s not all about C02, although CO2 is probably making some contribution. Overall, I am a skeptic when it comes to the “science is settled” dogma that CO2 and human activity are the primary forces driving climate change. That makes me about as stone-age conservative as you can be these days.

Therefore, I have become a Party of One. If you have a brain and are willing to use it, feel free to join me.