Do We Really Care? Are You Kidding?

Do I really care what "The Gulf of..." is called?

Do I really care if it's labeled "The Kennedy Center" or...?

Do I really care that the president is modifying the White House?

...Or if Joe Biden's official portrait of is an autopen?

I can answer that in three words: I. Don't. Care.

I think debates over these and other minutiae are petty, funny, childish, egotistical, silly, exasperating or all of the above. And we shouldn't devote one second of the national consciousness to them! They're beyond insignificant; they're trivial! We have more important things to worry about!

Such as Americans' ability to provide for our families — food, housing etc. — necessities harder to get when inflation shrinks the dollar. And things such as paying our own ways, our shrinking trust in our own government while increasingly fearing it! I fret that courts have become revolving doors, protecting criminals and ignoring victims; and that loud voices shout down our right to speak up.

I'm concerned we're losing our right to safety in our homes and on the streets, our right to defend ourselves, and our right to control our own lives free from government meddling.

"America First" is not a mantra to abandon our friends and the rest of the world. It's about us and us helping them. It's important for the U.S. to rid our global neighborhood of those preying on us and our allies. I'm glad we're regulating our borders again, letting those friendly and productive into our country, and telling our adversaries to get lost. I care that we're reclaiming our sovereignty.

Does this mean I overlook every questionable word President Trump utters? Or that I condone his every action? Hell, no! I don't condemn him for every little grammatical error or faux pas, either. Or every time he's rude or crude.

"America First" is not justification to turn our backs on the world. I watch, and I wait. I wonder if President Trump will have time to repair problems his predecessor created DJT's now having to address. I wonder if his successor (I hope it's a common-sense conservative!) will be up to the job and not let everything turn to crap.

I'm praying our president will continue to exercise good sense and not let Washington erode his ability for straight talk; that he'll not surrender his spine like so many of his predecessors. I worry that we Americans, who seem to need immediate gratification, get antsy and don't allow Trump domestic policy to work.

I'm concerned his age will catch up to him before he's finished.

These things are important to me, and I believe should be also to all Americans. And I'm glad we have a true leader who lawfully uses the full power of his office to govern, instead of a president who couldn't move unless some phantom pulled his strings and told him how to find his own butt. (Harsh? Certainly. True? Most certainly!)

From Day One, our national news media and career politicians (embedded like ticks in our government) hated DJT. He was an outsider, zero government and political experience. And he spoke brashly (and some would say ill-advisedly). But he wasn't devious, and the Ticks couldn't stand it. He won his first term doing what most of them promised they'd do when in Washington: stand tall and make things better. But they already had succumbed to Potomac Fever and to the Siren Song of power. They already were arm-in-arm, dancing the Washington 2-Step.

The soon-to-be president shined light on their consciences many DC insiders had smothered. They hated the exposure and hated him for turning the spotlight on them. So they attacked en masse and cranked up their propaganda machine.

I'm continually astonished and dismayed how well that worked. So many of my good, kind and, in most ways, intelligent friends have swallowed the anti-DJT swill without challenge. Their dislike for him has distilled into absolute hatred! He could cure cancer, invent a time machine and walk on water, and they'd not even entertain the possibility he might be right!

What Mr. Trump has accomplished has been either legal or is or will be adjudicated — and staggering! Yet, victims of TDS (yes, it is real.) still swear he's evil incarnate trying to destroy our Constitution. His family's been denigrated and threatened. He's been called a misogynist, felon, rapist, swindler, pedophile — everything but to supper. All without solid, irrefutable evidence.

And I'm not even gonna explain why I, a former journalist and public relations practitioner of 30-plus years, do not trust even one national medium and its minions any farther than I can tote the whole lot to the dumpster!

To reiterate my initial queries: No, I don't care! Those interminably debated "issues" are idiotic. I do not give a woodpecker's pecker about renaming iconic buildings or seas, about the president's construction/remodeling choices or his "desire" for a third term. They're all silly subjects the news networks' Big Giant Heads (remember TV's Third Rock?) use to distract John Q. Public and beat up on our president. Neither do I care what he may have said 30 or 40 years ago in an unguarded locker-room-type moment.

I only care what he's accomplishing now!

In short, I don't sweat the small stuff — and neither should you!

May you have a blessed, healthy and prosperous New Year!

It's Time To Be Honest With Ourselves

U.S. citizens have gotten so comfortable and careless — "lazy" in terms everyone understands — even we who claim to research what we read and hear, do so only half-assedly. The sources we in the attempt to uncover the truth and believe are, likely as not, as bent as those we investigate.

So we lounge in our recliners and nod while talking heads (who ironically call themselves journalists) wrap their opinions in "news" and toss them at us. Like bundles of spoiled fish. And we swallow them.

Am I the only one who sees the difference between sarcasm, weak or ill-advised jokes, inexact language and hyperbole? Apparently. Every time former-president Trump utters something tongue-in-cheek or inexact, his adversaries (and if you're wondering, I include the news media) jump on, tear it up and put it back together like a mob of Dr. Frankensteins trying to build a more evil monster. That's waaay past ludicrous!

That's the national news media: waaay past ludicrous!

I was reared to trust and believe our government; that those running it were basically good people. I've heard our "leaders" intentionally repeat misrepresenations, charges, deception so often, however, it no longer even fazes me! The brazen dishonesty of those in power today is absolutely unbelievable! (Well, it would be if it hadn't become the norm rather than the exception.)

I don't care if you like/hate Kamala Harris, or you like/haste Donald Trump. What I do care is that we make the best choice we have available this November. And it all cooks down to two questions:

    1. Do you love your country?

    2. Are you better off now than you were pre-2020?

Those are questions devoid of any extra research, emotion, or partisan politics. They're easy questions. And if you're honest with yourself, easily answered.

...Or, maybe you can just dance....

My 25 Most Significant Life Events

A Facebook friend recently inspired me to list the 25 most significant, interesting or impactful events in my life. Mine are not nearly so glamorous as my friend's, but they have meaning to me. And as not to completely mystify whoever has the misfortune to read this, I'm adding a brief explanation with each.

So by design, chance, conscious decision or royal screwup, and in no particular order, here they are. (Naturally, names have been changed or omitted to protect the guilty):

1. Meeting The Wife

You may not know that I met The Wife in a small college town. In Missouri. In a grill. A bar. Not exactly the beginning of the epic romance (if there is such an animal), but it worked for us!

My buddy and I were immersed in studies, foosball and beer. Then he went to work one semester for the local phone company as an old-style switchboard operator. He was the only male in a roomful of comely co-eds. I envied him!

He'd recently met his future wife and believed it was my turn. So he arranged for a co-worker to meet us one night after work. That first encounter was not love at first sight. I was foo far into the game and my cups. But. The second time I met her, BOINNNG! I was hooked!

Long story short, we wed 8-9 months later. Next spring will be our 50th anniversary.

2. Marriage

Literally within days after I made a conscious and hopeless decision to remain forever single (I was 27), I met Her. Call me "whipped," I don't care. She is the best thing that ever happened to me! (Short of my birth. That was pretty significant, too.)

3. Our Son's Birth

Until then, our marriage was idyllic self-centeredness. When Little Scurvy joined us, we quickly learned the joy, agony, optimism, fear, uncertainty and overwhelming responsibility of bringing a child into the world. And I wouldn't change it for all the tea in Colombia (or coffee in China? Or bacon in Canada!).

4. Our Daughter's Birth
I was present at the birth of both kids (The Wife was, too, of course), and the experience was, trite as it sounds, miraculous! Little Scurvette exhibited a strength I'd not expected almost from the moment she joined the family. She brought a whole new dimension of understanding and mystery to my existence. I cannot imagine what life would have been without her!

5. Scholastic Failure
My sophomore year of college, I busted my hump in a Genetics class taught by a man whose foreign accent I simply could not decipher. After midterms, he told me that no matter how well I did the rest of the way, I would not pass his course. Instead of challenging him or the school, I mentally surrendered, stopped attending and took an F. That incident altered my life and taught me that even bad decisions are valuable decisions.

6. Discovering Brewskis
About halfway through my freshman year, my college roommate talked me into beating some brain cells to death with a six-pack. I resisted. I used a couple of tallboys and a quart of cheap malt liquor instead. I discovered what confidence was — and the following morning what hangovers were. I learned to loosen up, and that has served me immensely since then, independent of alcohol.

7. Enlistment
No matter what anyone tells you, military service changes you, usually for the better. You can't help but grow when you're forced to live and work with people from far outside your little box. I know I can count on men I've actually spent a relatively short time with, because we were "shipmates." And they know they can count on me. No matter how much time has passed. You can't put a value on that.

8. Third Grade
The elementary schools I attended early on taught sight reading, seeing the words as pictures. Example, "cow" wasn't  a word spelled "c-o-w." It was an image of a cow. Schools didn't teach how words were built, i.e. phonics.

Mrs. Williams was old-school. When I had trouble learning to read, she told my parents how to help. Dad then drilled me nightly with flashcards, and within a couple of weeks, I was sounding out words and reading everything I could set my eyes on. If not for her and my Dad, an illiterate lump (as opposed to a literate one) would be struggling to write this.

9. Tonsillectomy
Until about 5, I wasn't very robust. I had allergies my folks were unaware of, but which contributed to three hospital stays for asthma by the start of third grade.

Then, they took my tonsils out, and my life immediately improved. Today, doctors say my tonsillectomy probably had no effect on my health. Could be.

All I know is, I started growing almost the minute they released me from the hospital, and I never had another asthma attack.

10. Forgiveness
When Dad died, I was wracked by guilt. I was 44; he was 67. He and Mom had been in an auto accident. In an orgy of medical timidity, they kept him three weeks in ICU for an old injury they'd detected that his personal doctor had cleared. The family knew of it, but no one (including me) thought to mention it to the hospital physicians.

Subsequently, Dad died of a staph infection in the hospital. Had I been more aware and put my foot down, I may have saved him. It took me several years to forgive myself.

11. My Name
Kids have a real talent for ridiculing with rhyme — and as a child, my name was an irresistible target. I got the full load. I hated it.

"Why?" I asked myself, couldn't I have been named Bill or George. Anything but Sue! (Oops. Off track there. Sorry, Mr. Cash.)

Now, I love my name. It's memorable!

12. Grudges

For almost half-a-lifetime, I held a grudge over an altercation I had with an until-then friend. He whupped me pretty good. Then at our 25th high school reunion, I ran into him. He looked as if Life had done more to him than I could ever do, and my need for revenge I'd been harboring dissolved.

That evening, I consciously chose to let go of such feelings. The Lord says we should love our neighbor, and since then, I try. 

13. Mobile Childhood
My family had roughly 30 addresses by my 13th birthday. Growing up, that was the source of a lot of sadness: leaving places we loved, and schools and friends behind, many to never see again. I never got to really know my extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. Never a feeling of truly belonging. No roots

But the upside was, my immediate family was close. Moving allowed me experiences I'd never've had otherwise; it exposed me to people I may never have met. It taught me to make friends and get along; to be tolerant of others.

My childhood mobility became a matter of pride.

14. Sleep Clinic

My whole life, I tossed and turned in bed — and I got up at least three times every night to pee. Finally, in my 50s The Wife said, "Lose the snoring, or lose me." I thought for a couple of days and asked myself, "Who's gonna cook my dinner?" I went to a sleep clinic.

Found I had sleep apnea, got a c-Pap machine, and my life changed. I slept at least six hours every night without moving and never got up to pee!

That was 20-some years ago, of course, and I do have to get up again. But only once. And I can sleep a minimum of four hours and be more rested than I ever felt before!

15. Allergy Treatment
In my late 30s, a co-worker put me onto allergy treatments. All my life, I'd thought I was getting the flu twice a year. I found at the Allergy Clinic that it was allergies and not viruses (Virii? Vira? I'll just call them little germy things.). Ultimately, I took allergy injections for about 18 years, and although I still have allergies, they're nothing compared to 20-30 years ago.

16. Celebrities

After a short "interview" with the late-Sen. Charles H. Percy of Illinois, it took a lot to rattle me in the presence of celebrities. As a grad student working for American New Service, I was struck with a brilliant question to ask him regarding gun control, I think, and caught him as he was leaving one hearing to vote in another. As I walked up the steps with him, aide after aide came up, whispered in his ear, then left. It rattled me. When we arrived at the new hearing entry, he paused and waited.

Pfffft! The brilliant question was gone. So I babbled something incoherent, he returned the favor and disappeared. I was devastated, but by the time I returned to the original hearing, I was laughing my butt off. Never again was I cowed by the fame or stature of another.

17. Baseball Brawl

When I was 18, I had nothing to do one night, so I went to watch the Summer Baseball League 8-9 boy's championship. Back then, they played full-team ball, pitchers, umps, all of it. That game was exciting and hard-fought and brought out probably too much emotion in the parents and coaches.

Teams always showed sportsmanship, lining up, marching over the mound and congratulating each other. This night, though, one coach said something to his opposite number — and fists started flying. As their charges watched wide-eyed, the two "adults" rolled around in the dirt trying to get in a good solid punch.

Finally, some real adults pulled them apart, the players went to get ice cream, and everyone went home.

That night, I promised myself that if ever the Good Lord blessed me with children, I'd be a part of their activities. My wife and I would not just abandon our kids to others who may or may not have the same aims and values as us.

Ultimately, I helped with baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball as our kids grew up.

And we're glad I did.

18. Parents Passing

My parents died about 12 years apart, Dad first. As I've mentioned, for a long time I felt I might have prevented it. His passing came quickly and hit my mom, sisters and me hard. We had no time to prepare.

His death took the wind out of Mom's sails, and if the truth be known, she'd have been content to die with him. Instead, she began a slow decline and in the end strokes took her.

I grieved horribly for Dad. Mom, I didn't. I loved her dearly, but because her downhill slide took so long, we all had time to prepare.

When they both had passed, my sisters and I, who'd had rocky relationships over the years, put hard feelings behind us. We became close.

The deaths of our parents taught us, finally, that time is too short to waste on petty squabbles.

19. College
I'd been, I felt, more unsure, unliked and invisible in high school. When I decided to go to college, I also decided to start over, re-invent myself. It took awhile, but I did, and it eventually gave me confidence and maturity. So much confidence, in fact, that I was able to flunk out without going all to pieces!

20. Eye Problems

I don't know who, but one of the many eye-care specialists I've seen in my life once told me I had the body of a 30-year-old and the eyes of a 60-year-old. Just what a 12-year-old wants to hear (kidding, just kidding!).

Since I received my first eyeglasses in 7th grade, I've had myriad eye problems: retinal, glaucoma, near-sightedness, cataracts, macular degeneration and who knows what else. And I'm still functioning!

This has taught me two things: 1. There's not any physical problem you can't overcome, short of death; 2. I can't remember what two was!

21. Retirement
I retired the earliest I could and still receive full benefits — in my case, at 62½. That was nearly 15 years ago. The Wife and I feared my sight would die before I could enjoy a bit of leisure. It didn't, and I've never looked back, never regretted our decision.

And we're still muddling along, happy as hogs in a waller...or as they say around here, a Razorback chewing on Longhorn leg (or maybe they don't say that. I'm old; I can't remember....).

I found with just a minimal amount of planning, even at a late date, I could retire pleasantly and comfortably. Runaway inflation may have changed things some since, but I still don't believe one needs $1 million minimum to live out his or her life.

22. NSEF

I'd been in the Navy half my 6-year enlistment when I was assigned to the Naval Security Engineering Facility in Washington DC. I'd been finagling for it for six months and when it was approved I was happy as a walrus in a bed of clams.

I'd originally signed up for electronics and unfortunately found I had neither the aptitude nor the patience for it. NSEF tasks extended beyond electronic maintenance, into carpentry, plumbing, masonry, a/c, electrical work and a range of other things. It was varied, and I loved it.

Not only did it provide me the means to travel without being confined to a ship, it taught me life skills I'd not gotten all in one place. Plus, it paid very well. Per diem and all.

Lastly, it taught me leadership skills I'd probably not had the chance to develop otherwise. And probably kept me out of trouble!

23. Teaching Myself

Two things: in 8th grade I got tired of being afraid of dances and mixers, thereby depriving myself of the company of the fairer sex. So, I rushed home from school each day, turned on the TV and taught myself to dance by watching American Bandstand!

Then when I was 20, I got fed up with staying home from swim parties because I was embarrassed I couldn't swim. So, I began going to the swimming pool in an adjacent town and taught myself to swim!

Of course, by then I was working rotating shifts at a local factory and couldn't attend swim parties then, either, because my days off didn't jibe with everyone else's. But still....

 
24. New Environment

After almost eight years in the craft, I left journalism. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made!

I got an offer to work in communications with Arkansas Farm Bureau, and took it with its $4,000-$5,000 raise. I'd been making $11,700 annually, which was under the median U.S. income.

Not only did my new job give me time for my family I'd not had, it paid enough  for The Wife and I to begin thinking of putting down roots. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it removed me from a cynical, psychologically toxic environment where too many co-workers were pompous and arrogant.

25. Faith

The Wife and I really began attending church regularly when we put our son in parochial school. We felt he, and later his sister, would benefit in ways beyond formal education. They have both become upstanding adults, and we are very proud of them.

During their school years, we became involved in our church and since, have learned much about and advanced with the Lord's help, in our faith.

Open Letter To My Democrat Friends

My Friends,

I'm writing this as a conservative-leaning Independent; a member of neither political party.

That said, the coming presidential election is not about who we like or dislike. It's about what's best for our nation.

We're not electing a buddy, we're electing a caretaker of our nation for the next four years. We don't have to like him or her. We have to be concerned only if he or she can get the job done!

On the one hand, we have candidate Kamala Harris who was elevated by a small group in your party against the wishes of an overwhelming majority, and who responds (if at all) to legitimate queries with inappropriate laughter and babble.

This election is not a laughing matter.

Her campaign is built on "joy," which seems to omit seriousness and good sense. And she changes her positions more than a chameleon standing on Scottish plaid changes its color.

I guess it may make her likable to some, but I don't think it qualifies her as a leader. She hasn't lifted a finger on the Public's behalf in four years.

Granted, there is a certain validity in your argument she's been vice president and so has been little more than a consultant/advisor. In that role, then, she's filled the presidential head with far-left idiocy. After all, she has boasted recently she has been "the last person in the room.

And I would think reasonable sane patriotic Democrats might find that objectionable.

On the other hand, the candidate Donald Trump has loads of common sense, which politicians have had little of in the past decades. His record is one of success, and he seems to care for the average working man or woman — a characteristic seemingly lacking in today's Democratic Party.

His past proves he can be crude, rude and full of ’tude, to be sure. And he has not always been "presidential." Of course, neither has our current V.P., unless you like "word salad" and irritating and graceless cackling.

The rhetoric about the nation going to Hell in a handbasket due to Trump's policies is, well...bullshit. All you have to do is research the Trumpian(?) years to see the positives at work then. They are there, even in the biased reporting of the "legacy news media" — if you don't let yourself be pulled down the rabbit holes of character assassinating reports, libel and slander.

You have two means of learning Harris's positions:

1, Rely on years-old self-contradictions, because she has no new "fixes;" 2, Research Trump's ideas and accomplishments, then listen to Harris. She wants to out-Trump Trump.

She's trying to pass off his programs/policies as her own. And why wouldn't she? They worked for him, she has no ideas, and she's following in Hidin's plagiaristic footsteps. (If you've ignored his lack of ethics and criminal behavior his whole career, why wouldn't you ignore hers now?

I agree that the conservative media are at times too nitpicky in their reporting of P. and V.P. gaffes. However, she has made almost no sense in any of her public comments or statements in nearly four years. Additionally, her ideas of what We the People need are diametrically opposed to what we really do need.

My Friends, if you're a stiff-necked die-hard far-leftie or progressive or whatever term you use, I can't heal you. You're beyond help.

But if you truly care about this country, try to put aside your personal "vibes," positive or negative, and think about how you're faring now. Think about how you fared four years ago, and what you want the next four years to be for our nation.

If you're honest with yourself, there's no question.

Scurvy C.A. McBeady

P.S. ...Or maybe we'll just dance....

Listening in on the Hummingbees

Spring and summer mornings, The Wife and I take our coffees outside and sit on the deck overlooking the mostly dry creek across the lawn below. We listen to the morning sounds and watch the hummingbees as they wake up and come zooming in to get their morning sugar fixes at our four HB feeders.

(We hang as many as a dozen of them on various hooks, nails and shepherd's crooks on the edge of the deck roof and around the railing — depending on how the winter treated the little critters on their 2,000-mile spring migration, what our local weather has been, or the cost of sugar.)

Sometimes, the hummingbees straggle in a few at a time, as if they just woke up and need a teeny cup of coffee to get started. More often, though, they come roaring in like a couple squadrons of tiny attack helicopters all trying to refuel at once.

Then after the initial chaos, the traffic settles down and fewer come to feed. This flight is less like a military operation and more like a bevy of fluttering feathered housewives rushing a supermarket during Twenty-Percent Tuesday. Chatting, gossiping, more interested in the socializing than the shopping.

This morning, I caught myself wishing I had a hummingbird translator so I could listen in on their twittering and chirping. My imagination took flight (excuse the word play).

"Hi, Helen! What *cheep* are you up to *chirp* today?"

"Hi, Hope! Just *tweet* looking for some diapers, size teeny tiny miniscule. Hoger's doesn't carry them *twitter* anymore."

"I know, right? *tweet* Ever since the Bird Flu Pan*chirp*demic, it's been hard to find them. Have you *twitter* tried J.C. Henney's? *tweet*

"No, I'll make that my next stop. *twitter* Say, did you *cheep* hear *chirp* about Haley? Her eldest hasn't re*tweet*turned from Panama yet."

"Oh, my! *chirp* I hope he's not stuck *cheep* down *tweet* in Nic*twitter*aragua in that horrid *tweet*tweet*twitter* sparrow caravan coming this *chirp* way!"

"That'd be *tweet* just terrible! What'll *chirp* Hester and her *cheep*cheep* little chicks, Hank, *tweet* Heidi, Howard and Holly do?" *cheep*tweet*twitter*

"I don't know, *chirp* they'e so messy! Have you "twitter" ever seen her *tweet* nest? *cheep*

"Noooo! *tweet* Well, gotta fly!" *cheep*twitter*chirp*

"Call me!" *chirp*tweet*twitter*cheep*

At least, that's how I imagined it. Could be completely different. Who knows what those bustling bitty bundles of hustle are thinking.

"Jeez, low again! *chirp* I wish those giant sluggish lumps'd *cheep*chirp*twitter* move a little faster and *tweet*chirp* keep these feeders full*tweet*er. Don't they know *chirp* we need to eat *twitter*tweet* every 15 minutes?" *chirp*tweet*twitter*cheep*

"If he doesn't step it up, I'm gonna stick my *chirp* beak in his ear!

"By the way, it's 'hummingBIRDS,' not 'bees!'" *grumble*TWEET!*

...Or maybe in their heads, they're just dancing....

Good News, My Millions of Fans!!

(I...what? Oh, alright....)

Ahem!

Good news, my three followers! I'm baa-aaack! After only six short years! And I've brought with me  the event you've been waiting for so patiently!

Sea Stories & Other Lies: Mostly True Tales of a Dry-Land Sailor is here! The very first (and possibly last) book written by me, Scurvy C.A. McBeady, is now available to the public!

Yes, friends and neighbors, you, too, can own a first-edition in either paperback or ebook format!

"Why should I buy it?" you may ask.

"For several reasons," I may answer.

First, I worked really really hard writing it. I typed my little fingers down to nubs! (Well, maybe I just wore my fingernails down a little, but still....) I spent more than two years getting it just right (Ignore the occasional typos, they're minor.). That of itself deserves a look-see, don't you think?

Second, I'm a pretty fair writer. You'll be amazed at the many ways I can turn a phrase. And I use very few big words, so it'll be easy to understand.

Third, I need the money. I have five kids to feed and.... Okay, you got me there. The Wife and I only have two kids and a dog. And both kids aren't. They're grown and fully capable of supporting themselves. But the dog is (a dog?), and we have to feed him!

Fourth, I think you'll enjoy Sea Stores & Other... etc. It's a genre you won't often find in the annals of great literature, a humorous fictitious memoir, "partly truth and partly fiction," as Kristofferson penned in The Pilgrim. It's a narrative of one young man's experiences during a time he was in the employ of Uncle Sam's sea-going forces.

"Oh," you might say, "I love a good adventure tale!"

And I would answer, "This ain't it."

No swashbuckling here, no hero swooping in to save the damsel. In fact, the protagonist doesn't even once punch anyone in the nose! This is a tale of a somewhat naive young man's trying — although not very hard at times — to stay out of trouble in a strict, often nutty, environment and grow up at the same time.

Look for Sea Stories & Other Lies: Mostly True Tales of a Dry-Land Sailor wherever fine literature is sold. (You won't find it there, but you can still look.) It is available at Amazon Kindle Book Store. If it seems a little pricey, try to remember we're in an inflationary economy — and you're helping fund an old geezer's declining years. And his trophy wife.

Sea Stories & Other Lies: Mostly True Tales of a Dry-Land Sailor.

Get it, read it, then tell me what you think.

...Or maybe we can all just dance....

Isn't It About Time We Grew Up?

Let me be clear....

President Donald J. Trump is just a man. Unlike a former chief executive, however, Mr. Trump's supporters have never called him a "messiah." Time and the politics of writers and historians eventually will flag his leadership ability for us.

Mr. Trump has the same warts, flaws, blemishes and scars as every other man who ever held our nation's highest office. Our 45th president — and he is our president — is not a slick "traditional" politician; not politically correct, not two-faced; and he doesn't talk out of both sides of his mouth. He is charming and a quick study, yet rude and crude and a mean-ass dude. He also tends speak out when he probably shouldn't. Many of his supporters agree.

But from the start, he relished (still does) "getting in the grills" of national media types. They expected Mr. Trump to kiss their butts, and when he didn't, it chafed them immensely. You saw it in Megyn Kelly's face during the initial FoxNews-hosted Republican Presidential Debate in 2016. So, the news media hate him.

They attacked with a vengeance and continually bombard average folk with irrelevant "facts," rumor, allegations and downright falsehoods. They unashamedly and unapologetically attacked our president's family, as well, at every opportunity. Still do. The media have not been able to put him into any of their "normal" little boxes, and that makes them unhappy.

For awhile, I feared the Fourth Estate had successfully shifted the average American's focus to the trivial — his rough edges, insults (imagined or real), past indiscretions and aggressive personality — and away from the good he's done since he' been our president.

That even one "average-person" Trump-hater can ignore the positives of his administration thus far, and feel such animus towards him absolutely astonishes me! For otherwise-rational people to hate him is infinitely absurd! It's unsound, disconnected, preposterous and just wrong!

I can understand how almost everyone on the left in Congress, and too many on the right, dig in their heels against him. There are exceptions, but I believe our congressional representatives are self-absorbed, pin-headed political prostitutes only superficially concerned with the welfare of our nation. And thus far, they have done nothing to convince me otherwise.

But I now believe the Vile Left is quickly losing its audience. We the People are weary of the anti-president propaganda spewing from the mouths of the talking heads on the news networks we once trusted. We're tired of the simps on Congress's left whining, making ridiculous assertions and even encouraging violence, unrest and lawlessness in their public pronouncements!

Personally, I hope the Vile Left, and Congress's nattering nabobs of nonsense (to put a spin on the words of William Safire) continue their asinine antics. Every time they open their mouths, it helps those of us who don't pay enough attention to realize just how lucky we are to have our president.

As voters. As a society, we Americans must get beyond our petty annoyances. So what if Mr. Trump might have made an untoward remark to a woman nine, or 15, or 30 years ago? So what if he inherited $X million from his old man? So what if he changed his mind on a position he held seven years ago? The news media would have you believe those are terrible character flaws. Believe me they're much, much better than making a ton of campaign promises, not delivering on any of 'em and waffling you way out. That's a non-Trump politician!

Think about it. Do you really wish that Hillary was in the White House?

We need to grow up, Folks. There has been only one perfect man on earth in recorded history. And...we...crucified...Him.

...But maybe we should all just dance....

Those Spoiled NFL Player Protests...

Responding to the justification that NFL players have a Constitutional Right to protest whatever they're protesting (They seem a little confused on that.), I say, "Wrong!"

Except for a few crackpots, most Americans stand for free speech. Like anyone else, then, NFL players — misguided, sheeplike and, yes, hypocritical — certainly have a right to voice their opinions. But there's a time and a place, etc. During an NFL game is neither.

The NFL and its players have forgotten we middle-class Americans pay their salaries. We buy the tickets and jerseys, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, stand with our hands over our hearts during the National Anthem and show respect for the nation and its symbols. We invite them into our homes on Sundays, not the other way around. When we do, we expect to see a football game, not watch some disrespectful, spoiled prima donna trample on the National Anthem or the Flag. We really don't give as rat's patoot whether the players protest or not.  But we hate having it shoved down our throats! And that's what the players are doing when they kneel during the game. That. Pisses. Us. Off!

So what could the NFL have done? Thought with its head, not its wallet. Instead, it panicked. Let's say you miss a three-foot putt, totally lose it and throw your favorite putter into the lake. Now, say Best Buy sends you to install a customer's TV. The connecters don't fit, you lose it and cuss a blue streak.

In the first example, you represent only yourself. Does your Right of Free Speech allow you to swear like a sailor? Eeyup, it does. Your actions reflect on you alone (or maybe your parents, who should have taught you better).

In the second example, you represent your employer. Now, does your Right of Free Speech mean you can offend your customer and reflect badly on your boss? Also yup.

But does it mean you can do it with impunity? Nnnope. Not when it undermines your employer. And not following rules, and embarrassing or working against him certainly is undermining. 

As an employe who takes a wage, you have certain obligations, because you represent your boss. Generally, if you don't agree with his rules and directions, you have two options: swallow hard and keep your job or, man up and quit. You can't have it both ways. Simple as that. The NFL, or at least the owners, Wimped out. They should have laid down the law; fined and benched the instigators; then dealt with it in court, if need be.

Recently, the league, that altruistic paradigm of American values (note the sarcasm), waltzed around the protests and released a mealy-mouthed, I-feel-your-pain statement saying nothing. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, however, later hinted on a radio show the players should find a better way to voice their concerns.

If those players are truly sincere, they indeed should find a more effective venue. Better yet, if they're worried about police brutality, racism, social injustice, the oppression of minorities (in a word, "blacks), homosexual/transvestite rights, that Black Lives Matter, lack of respect and myriad other complaints, they should stop whining.

Note that I earlier called them hypocrites. There are exceptions, but I find it hard to believe they really care about all that stuff when they kneel on their millions and don't pony up to help those they claim to care about. And don't tell me players don't wave the First Amendment around with one fist while threatening teammates with the other who don't agree with them. Witness the Steelers lineman, an Army vet, who stood alone outside the tunnel to show respect for the National Anthem. Later, he decided to apologize to his team. You think he wasn't "helped" in that decision? Especially given earlier rumors that the Oakland Raiders O-line opened the gates on their quarterback because he didn't kneel during the anthem?

Surprisingly, three TV networks finally acted. They opted to air commercials while the anthem is being played, thereby rendering the protesters invisible. (They could just as easily shown only the anthem and not the protesters, but at least those brats are out of the spotlight.) Interestingly, before last year the anthem got very little air time. Only when one network shot Kaepernick on a knee did it become news.

As for me, I'm still not watching the NFL. And I hope the fan boycott continues. Then the league either will clean up its act, or its wallet will continue to hemorrhage! And if that happens, there'll be no "maybe" from me.

I most assuredly will dance!

Media, Shape Up or Shrivel Up...

This piece is in response to an article a friend posted on Facebook:

"The 2016 Election and the Demise of Journalistic Standards"
( https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/2016-election-demise-journalistic-standards/ )
I didn't want to fill his timeline with my rant, so I'm ranting here.

Overall, I agree with Mr. Goodwin. But I differ on several points. If you looked, you could see today's situation coming as far back as post-Watergate. Kids were entering journalism in droves, driven in part by altruism, but as much by personal ambition. And they were taught increasingly and overtly by left-leaning academics.

I'm disgusted at the number of my former colleagues who've fallen right in line with such dangerous judgement and destructive behavior! News flash, bozos: the Left can turn on you in a New York minute. If they take the First Amendment away from conservative voices, they can take it away from news media. Savvy?

Students I saw entering TV news, especially, wanted to be "stars," not reporters. And they saw "splash" as the quickest way. That's how we went from reporting a fatal crash, to knocking on the door of a victim's parent for "reaction," to reporting unsubstantiated rumor today, then convicting based on said rumor.

I was appalled as early as 1977 by reporters, both young and old enough to know better, inserting their biases into news stories — and editors and news directors letting them get away with it!

In his book "Boys on the Bus," Timothy Crouse exposed "pack journalism" during the Nixon-McGovern election, and it has gotten much worse now. The most insignificant dead horse is beaten today, until grows, not becomes a smudge and disappears.

The Left seems to be doing its darndest to quash dissent — amazingly, abetted by the media! The same media who so enthusiastically defended Larry Flynt, publisher of "Hustler Magazine," against obscenity charges in the '70. Based on First Amendment Rights.

The New York Times, Washington Post and Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS to you whom don't know what the initials stand for) once were the epitome of objectivity. Today, only FOXNews of the major news organizations even pretends to be objective. I'm ashamed ever to have been a part of the news media. Had I worked for a national news outfit, I think I'd have probably slit my wrists by now.

For several decades I've felt that many in the government and national news media believe they know what's good for me better than I do. Witness the Clintons, Gores, Obamas, Sanders et al. And in the above article, I believe Mr. Goodwin doesn't give enough credit to we, "the Great Unwashed." Americans can forgive mistakes, even incompetence to a point. But we CANNOT forgive dishonesty.

Though we Americans are sometimes slow to act on the national stage, I believe we eventually tire of arrogance and conceit in our leaders. And the Left's current attempts at DJT's death by a million cuts" notwithstanding, enough of us had it up to here and placed him into the presidency. That's an important point. Though we may not have been a majority, we were a fed-up plurality. And we're NOT gonna cave into a bunch of lazy self-centered whiners who just want to take, take, take and never contribute.

And if the national media don't hold a Come-to-Jesus Meeting among themselves, We the People will. Already the traditional news outlets are suffering. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that if media don't straighten up, they will have no need to.

Economics is a powerful force. They'll just fade to black.

...Or maybe they'll just dance....

Thoughts on Inauguration Day...

I hope this Inaugural Day signals the end of all the whining. Or, depending upon your political persuasion, crowing over the '16 Presidential Election.

I no longer care what the vote tally was, who won the popular vote, or who won the Electoral College. Juste so long as it was honest.

It's over; let's move on.

Like it or not, Donald J. Trump will shortly be our new leader, our 45th. And just as I have the last six or seven elections, I pray our new president is up to the task.

Personally, I think the pettiness of those elected "leaders" who have chosen to forego this inauguration is beyond belief. I also find it laughable that so-called "celebrities," many of whom I've never heard, are "boycotting" the event. When I was a kid, the fact that my favorite cowboy hawked some cereal didn't make me wanna badger Mama 'til she bought it. And age has not changed that. My opinion of someone is not swayed even a little by actors and such, people who live in an imaginary world.

Who cares? We've beaten the "boycott" horse soundly, so let's dismount.

Oh, and we certainly don't want to neglect those idiot protestors making asses of themselves. If they had as dozen brain cells among them, they'd know now is not the time to protest. Today's ceremony is the 56th Inaugural Day, if my math is right; the 56th peaceful passing of leadership of the world's longest-running democratic republic. Today is about passing the torch, whether or not you like the recipient. If those bozos want to protest, they should be doing it at home, before their congressmen/women. Not today.

To the national news media, I say, "Enough! We get that every word from your mouths is golden, and by the 10th or 12th time, they sink into our little pea brains. You don't have to keep hammering!

"

Get off your keisters and go find some new, real news!"

Finally:

Democrats and Republicans, stop playing to your radical constituency!

You Democrats in Congress, if you think your current behavior is gonna make your party stronger, or elevate you within it, you're fools. You Republicans, if you think it's time for payback, you, too, are fools. We, the Great Unwashed, don't give a rat's putout about your petty little feuds.

All y'all better get your butts in gear, and stop with the old-school politics-as-usual crap. Petty vendettas, real or imagined slights, listening to the small LOUD minorities instead of those who put you into office. And stop telling us what you think we want to hear, and tell us the truth!. We're adults, most of us, and we can handle it.

No more partisan bickering, and no more fighting among yourselves. We the People have eyes and ears, and now, finally, we're paying attention.

To paraphrase my sainted mama, "We the People put you into office, and We the People can take you out!"

If y'all don't shape up, after next election, you all will have plenty of time just to dance....

Getting Some Politics Off My Chest

It's about eight hours before the polls open on Election Day 2016. If I'm gonna say anything more about this presidential election, it's gotta be now.

All the talking heads on the boob tube are ramping up their pseudo-expertise, each trying to out-soothsay the others. As I sit here before my computer, I'm trying to sort out all the innuendo, slander, libel, baseless charges, legitimate allegations, downright lies, common-senseless rumors, myths and truth I've digested over the year-plus of this interminable campaign. I'll not go into them all, but it's not easy.

I will tell you what I've come to believe and learn.

I'm convinced, first and foremost, Hillary Rodham Clinton will make a poor leader if she's elected. The primary reason? Because, being charitable, she is unethical; at worst, an unrepentant criminal. I know I can't change anyone's mind now. However, if you vote for her because 1) she is a female, 2) because she is "experienced," 3) because you hate Donald Trump, or 4) because she may be dishonest but so is everyone else in Washington, I feel sorry for you. You've focused on the smoke and not the fire: the economy and jobs, the direction of the nation, and national security. I'll take a president who says what he thinks over a pandering crook any day!

I believe this nation needs term limits on Congress and every elected federal official. Our nation's Founding Fathers in no way intended the government of the United States of America to be operated and controlled by a professional political class. They knew what it could do to the nation. Our first president George Washington went so far as to urge and warn the people of his era not to succumb to the siren song of partisan politics. But did they listen? N-o-o-o! And look where we are now.

I've learned never to put your absolute faith in any politician, no matter how closely he/she resembles the Second Coming. I remember the president's first campaign, and after he won some were bubbling that an Obama presidency would be a God-send for the black community. Some of his followers even were calling Barak H. Obama the "black Jesus!" Now, I'm not a member of the black community, but I don't hear such hyperbole now from that quarter. Conversely, I hear more and more minority folk expressing disappointment, regret, even disdain for his presidency.

I've learned the person at the top sets the tone. The last eight years, that tone was changed from one of empty optimism to petulant cynicism. Or worse. For the first time in my life, I saw a president who encouraged division and hatred. I saw a "leader"who directed the nation's top law enforcement officer to selectively enforce laws. And I saw a man who, using the excuse of an uncooperative Congress, ruled by executive order (read "fiat") and trampled the Constitution. That's unacceptable! I fear if that abuse continues or grows, I envision the sort of strife I never want for me nor my children.

I believe that when one of the four branches of our republic's government — Executive, Judicial, Legislative and Press (yes, four. Why do you think it's called the "Fourth Estate?") — breaks down, oversteps its limits without challenge, or shirks its responsibilities, the nation is endangered. And that's what I've watched happen in the past eight-10 years.

I've seen the Press in the last decade turn a blind eye to government abuses and corruption. The national media were so eaten up with the idea of a "black" U.S. president, they not only dropped the ball, they lied that they didn't. Obama basically came out of nowhere after six years as an Illinois legislator and one-term U.S. senator. And the Press only touted his race. He was un-vetted. Nobody, and I mean nobody looked into where he came from, who influenced him, etc. He got a free pass.

I believe the national news media should be ashamed of themselves. The deeper into the 2016 presidential campaign we've gotten, the more apparent it's become where media sympathies lie. As we've ground down to tonight, our national news media have abandoned any pretext of impartiality, unless  \overwhelming circumstances forced otherwise. They have become what the USSR's state news outlets, Pravda and Tass, were during the Cold War: a propaganda arm of the government. We the People may be slow on the uptake sometimes, but we're not stupid. We eventually see. Is it any mystery, then, why so many of us don't trust the news?

I've believe Barak Obama is a Socialist, and so is Hillary Clinton. Both the writings and the life influences they've cited prove it. Socialism, which morphs into Communism, rots a society from the inside. The Communist Bloc dissolved because, eventually, criminals were the only ones left who benefited from their own efforts. Everybody else gave up. A Clinton presidency will keep us on the downward spiral that has trapped us the last eight years. If we don't pay attention, our America will morph into something we, all of us, will not want to experience.

 I believe our population has become too comfortable, too spoiled and too apathetic. We're too easily led by empty promises. For years before I retired, I heard comments about one elected U.S. senator/representative or another: "Well, he may be a crook, but at least he's our crook." It always amazed me. If we continue with that sort of attitude, we absolutely deserve the kind off government we get.

Having written the above, I still believe in our nation. Paraphrasing the Left after Obama won the White House, "We survived Obama, you can survive   ." That is, no matter who wins the White House tomorrow, our nation will survive. We'll have to make some changes, either opposing or supporting whoever the president is. But we need to give the "new guy" a fair chance. And we need to "own" our government; stop letting "our guy in Washington" take care of things. We need to pay attention. If not...

Maybe dancing's all we'll have....

Clinton or Trump: An Easy Choice

Okay, when last I wrote of this 2016 presidential election, I was about ready to pop. I didn't.

But now, only three days before we all vote on our next leader, I don't mind telling you, the past several years we haven't made a very good job of selecting our president. Like most people I know, the vitriol of this race has put me off. I'm also alarmed over where this nation is heading. If I don't get a few things off my chest now, though, I will pop!

The United States I've always believed in, and for whose ideals many of us and our forebears have sacrificed, now seems no longer to exist. What I consider vital U.S. institutions — churches, families, the sovereign states, our military, law enforcement, our Constitution — all seem to be under attack. As a society, we have no respect for one another.

We can blame this on whomever we want, but what matters is this decline is deep and getting deeper. As a nation, we've forgotten who we are and why we are. Our ancestors, and many of us today perhaps, came to this country as the dregs of other societies.  But everyone sought a better life; often avoiding persecution. Some came against our will, as slaves, convicts or undesirable "poor" indentureds. But of those, how many have ever really wanted to go back? Few.

Certainly, throughout its 240-year history, our nation hasn't been perfect. At times, it's been arrogant, stubborn, grasping, selfish, even genocidal. And we're not the only one. All nations have done, and will do, things of which no one should be proud. That doesn't excuse the past, but what's done is done. Nor does it mean we should hang our head in shame, shuffle around the globe apologizing and damning our Founding Fathers' ideals. We must not stop trying to do right.

Our nation was established as Christian, and we should act like it. We should help the rest of the world through charity, strength or both. We should be tolerant of other societies' customs and ways of thinking. Surrendering our traditions or way of life is not how to do it, however.

Today, it becomes ever more important that we are careful. For example, we can't exemplify diversity and tolerance, if we let unidentified and dangerous populations infect us like some evil pestilence. As a Christian nation, must we offer up our collective throat to the knives of those who want to cut it? No, we must tighten and control access to our country. If we don't, we indeed do n to have a nation.

Like it or not, the USA must be a world leader. Strong. We may not be able to "fix" every wrong on the planet. But if we don't shine as a light for freedom, no one will. These last almost-eight years, we've seen what happens when U.S. slinks away. Our influence wanes. We won't shine unless we stand tall and bold.

Now, Hillary Clinton has been in/around politics since college. Donald Trump has been in the business world. Radical leftist Saul Alinsky is one of Clinton's major influences. Others are Wall Street, rich radical George Soros, and money. Trump cites his late father Fred as his greatest influence.

Allegedly, the Watergate Commission fired Clinton for playing fast and loose with the truth. When Bill Clinton lost his bid for a second term as Arkansas governor, Hillary Rodham became Hillary Clinton because she feared using her maiden name alienated Arkansans. When the infamous "Bimbo eruptions" occurred after the Clintons regained the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, then again in the White House, she viciously savaged them to "defend" Bill. And we won't even talk about the Clintons' scandals as Arkansas' first family.

This is what I see:

Donald Trump is not a professional politician. He's a businessman and has made and lost millions in real estate and construction. He seems to be frank and open almost to a fault and doesn't hide his big ego. And yes, he is a braggart and crude. But he's a private citizen with zero political experience, and many forgive his rough edges. Traits that might have been millstones around the necks of pro-pols endear him to his supporters. Much of the American public are fed up with the insulting behavior of elected officials — empty promises, arrogance, own-nest-feathering and total disregard of the public's wishes or good — and they see in Trump someone who will change that.

Hillary Clinton is a professional politician. She has lusted for the presidency since before her husband was elected. She is experienced in the political arts, which means she's shown willingness to tell anyone whatever they want to hear. She trivializes, obfuscates, panders, stonewalls, obstructs and twists, and "lawyerizes" to fit her whims — often, to avoid being embarrassed, caught or perhaps even prosecuted for misdeeds. Recent revelations via Wikileaks (https://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails) and multiple news videos show that she has participated in "pay-for-play" schemes selling access to high government officials, including while she was secretary of state, and misled or out-and-out lied to bereaved families of Americans murdered in Benghazi, Lebanon.

Donald Trump has been besieged by the Left and the national news media with charges of racism, religious intolerance, rape and sexual assault, sexism, and unethical and dishonest business practices. (Incidentally, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that in the real world the only practical way to ensure shoddy work or service is fixed is to withhold payment — Trump's perfectly reasonable explanation.) I gotta tell ya that, so far as I can tell, almost all the allegations are "he-said, she-said." That is, accusations that've been leveled without corroborating evidence.

When Hillary Clinton and Bill left the White House, they reportedly took $150,000-$200,000 in furnishings, art and fixtures belonging to the public (via the National Park Service, which is responsible for the residence). They returned part of the "loot" only after the press revealed their "mistake." With no ties there, the Clintons left the White House for New York State so she could run for the U.S. Senate. In the South, that's called "carpetbagging." She subsequently did zero significant work there, using her time to set up a run at the presidency.

At this point, her whole plan for the country is "Trash Trump, Become President, Do What Obama Did." Meanwhile, "experts" say Trump's "Plan for America" is doomed to fail. Yet, Clinton is running basically on what Obama has "accomplished": over-regulation, high unemployment, bigger government, rule-by-fiat (executive order) and trampling of the Constitution, rampant disrespect and rule-by-the-loudest. Plus, a hard run at a socialist America. No part of this Obama "legacy" has made the nation better.

Hillary Clinton's inaction and refusal of aid to our embassy directly contributed to the deaths of four Americans who might have been spared in Benghazi. (Remember: like Nero, she fiddled with which uniforms soldiers should wear to aid State Department employees; meanwhile, the embassy burned!) Later, she destroyed federal evidence after it had been subpoenaed. She perjured herself to Congress and lied to the FBI. Worse still, her overt negligence and incompetence put the national security of the United States at risk. The source of those revelations doesn't matter. I repeat: She knowingly put the national security of our nation at risk!

Donald Trump, by contrast, said mean things. I don't think anybody died because of them. And I can't get around the apparent fact that his family and friends love Trump. Apparently, too, a high majority of Trump employees like, respect and swear by him. It's hard for me to accept that someone who commands loyalty so bereft of a mafia-like "love-me-or-bad-things-will-happen-to-you" attitude is as evil as the Left wants us to believe.

Trump wants to return to "a government "of the People, by the People and for the People;" to reverse encroachment into our daily business, and to lead our nation back to honor, prosperity, pride and, yes, greatness — with fresh ideas and dedication.

 Clinton wants to be the first female president. Then take revenge on her enemies. Beyond that, more Obama.

To me, this presidential election comes down to this choice:

Clinton — who sees Uncle Sam as an octopus (remember Disney's The Little Mermaid?) whose tentacles slide into every corner of our lives, our pockets and ultimately drown us in social regulation and control...

Or...

Trump — who sees Uncle Sam as a junkyard dog, strong, protective, alert and leaving We the People, its owners, to our own business, which is everything the Constitution doesn't specifically grant to the federal government.

I value transparency. I value the Constitution. I value plain-speaking. I value common sense. I value honesty. I value Uncle Sam, the junkyard dog. For my children and grandchildren, and their's. Donald Trump is who I'm voting for. And when he gains the White House...

...I'll definitely just dance!