Bits and Pieces for June 2015

 Gay Marriage Captivates the Nation,  depending upon who you are and, frankly, lots of people could not care less.  My only concern from the start was assuring that gay people could serve -- and continue to serve -- in the military, equal and open with every other member of the armed services.  Never did I think, well, now it's time for gay marriage and, by the way, be sure to throw all of this in everybody else's face to urinate them off.  Unfortunately, an elite minority, a very small elite minority, is driving all of the hoopla, and at some point they need to back off, otherwise our laws and values will mean nothing -- thus inviting the insertion of radicals and a takeover of American standards, much to the detriment of the freedoms we all take for granted. Not that this isn't already in progress.

You want to get gay-married, fine, get gay-married.  I think it's a bit silly and find the use of the words, husband  and wife absurd in a gay relationship, and find the whole concept of gay marriage as something akin to "playing house," but who cares what I think, so go do your thing.  I think gay people are better off when standing aloof and acting special and above the critical, hounding masses, and trying to be like that oft insidious element cheapens one. But whatever you do, stay strong and appreciate your country and be ready always to fight for it, because bad people and bad politics are eternally poised to clobber us over the head and destroy the U.S., whatever it takes.

And you transgendered folk -- lately, there has leaked out more and more about the post-traumatic results of going under that particular knife, that is, going for, if we may, the full surgical monty.  What seems free, new and exciting, to wit, collapses into fits of depression, unfulfilled expectations and even suicide more often than we apparently knew..  Look, there are all kinds of surgeons and gender advisers out there, and nothing influences the choices of some like money, big money.  Think twice, think a thousand times before going under the gender-alteration knife, monetarily enriching others while perhaps setting yourself up for irreversible emotional impoverishment. 

Gay marriage?  Yes, there are incredibly stable gay relationships that last a lifetime -- but if I had just one wish granted to me on this special Supreme Court occasion, I would wish to be a divorce lawyer.  Jealousy!  Mistrust!  Murders taken to a bloody, chopped up degree of which we can only imagine! I suspect gay business for attorneys is gonna be pretty good in years to come.  It's just the nature of the beast, and now a revised beast at that. 

Religious institutions and established religious beliefs must not be sacrificed as a result of the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage.  Diversity, a word I've come to despise because I finally realized it applies to some, but not others, is supposed to work for everybody.  Funny, too, how a Supreme Court whose mission is to interpret laws now takes on Congress's traditional and constitutional role of actually producing legislation.  This tendency will not endure in the long run.

Oh, and I know this is just my crazed and immature mind speaking, but when and if ISIS ever catches on Big Time in the USA, after they finish killing everybody in Hollywood, they'll conveniently locate all the computer-recorded gay marriage licenses so they can murder gay people in the same manner currently employed in other countries -- blindfolded, hands tied and thrown from tall buildings, head first.  But don't worry, the ISIS folk, according to Lord Obama, merely constitute a "JV team."

Nothing reflects masculinity like a man with a beard and the ladies love 'em, too.  Unfortunately, some new research involving laboratory analysis of beards has discovered many of them, for some reason, contain fecal matter.  You might want to reconsider that welcome-home kiss which occurs just prior to the words, "Ready for dinner, dear?"

The lie of Obamacare is again honored by Supreme Court tweaks  and still this happens as people across the nation fail to benefit from Obama's promised $2,500 health insurance savings -- riddled instead by wildly increasing premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

A 21-year-old moron in South Carolina apparently has the ability to encourage other morons through his murderous actions, in that the masses are now on a campaign to tear down statues and ban the Confederate flag, and even corporations such as Wal-Mart and Amazon are on the bandwagon by refusing to sell the flags.  Isn't this America, where free speech is encouraged and protected?  The concept of free speech has become free speech except when offensive to morons, the easily offended and the agenda-encapsulated.  Attempts to ban or alter history, no matter how distasteful or tragic, is a momentous error destined only to hurt future generations which require history in order to either enjoy its benefits or avoid its pitfalls.

A side note:  Just because a 21-year-old moron murdered nine people in South Carolina and pictures showed him, at some time in the past, wearing a Gold's Gym shirt, should everybody avoid, condemn and insist upon banning Gold's Gym or, for that matter, all similar establishments?  The fools we are.

And, oh, the murderer had to reload his gun five times.  Had somebody in the room had equivalent firepower, the punk wouldn't have had time for the first reload.  Sorry, for my part I vote for more guns for almost everybody.  I mean, after you're shot dead, I guess when the cops finally arrive on the scene they can draw some pretty chalk lines, but beyond that. . .

Isn't ABC News, among others, particularly adept at featuring stories about bad weather almost every night, night after night?  The answer is a resounding YES, and it's obvious to me that this is their helpful (to the White House) attempt to brain-bathe us with fears of global warming and the drastic steps we MUST take or die tomorrow.  The freakin' communists couldn't be carrying this out any better with a propaganda campaign, which is exactly what I see here.  No wonder national TV network news is about to have had its day, when you can get different perspectives on the Internet.

Yippee!  New statistics reflect an aggregation of over 80,000,000 millennials in the United States, exceeding the number of baby boomers considerably.  Now, you folks can prepare for the next generation blaming YOU for the world's troubles.  Here, take the baton. . .

Donald Trump may not be on everybody's political radar, but his aptly stated comments about Mexico and its unfavorable influence upon the United States as its undesirables, uneducated dolts and other human debris sweep across the Southern border ring true with a plethora of Americans who feel all but betrayed while other political hopefuls dance around the words they fear to use when referencing illegals and other such undocumented criminals.  Were Trump president, be honest -- how could he possibly do anything worse than the prison-worthy frauds currently holding the country hostage in Washington?

Looks as though Trump has plenty of lawsuit material before him.  First, Mexican TV dumps its mutual association with those nonetheless archaic and pointless "beauty" pageants, and now crybaby NBC-TV is throwing him under the bus because he spoke naughty, yet refreshingly accurate comments about our uninvited Mexican border jumpers.  Apparently, the truth hurts.  So much for media institutions which traditionally are expected to cherish one's  First Amendment rights - even when the ideas expressed are opposite to their own.  Most major commercial TV networks are leaning so far left, I'm amazed they don't topple over, though they are destined to do exactly that in time.  How strange that NBC, angered by the utter lies told by former news anchor Brian Williams, also expresses anger at the utter truth told by Donald Trump.  Can't have it both ways. Or can they?

Let me get this straight:  Ryan Seacrest will host a new Fox summer TV series entitled, Knock Knock Live,  during which he travels from place to place, anonymously knocking on doors of people who have entered the contest in advance, and he awards various expensive prizes?  My thought is, what if domestic ISIS members enter and lie in wait for that fateful knock?  Then who actually gets the surprise?  Times have changed, friends. . .

Mint Condition(al)

 (Because I apparently used my last postage stamp to mail-order a copy of  How to Potty-Train Your Cat in 9 Lives or Less, I'll just have to post my letter to the Danbury Mint online today.  Strange thing is, I don't have a cat.)

The Danbury Mint

47 Richards Ave.

P.O. Box 5270

Norwalk, CT  06860-0207

Dear Danbury Mint Representative:

How thrilled I was this week to receive from you a packet directed to me because I am a U.S. military veteran!  Of course, I was a bit troubled that you somehow know I'm a veteran, but then I came to my senses and realized you probably got my address and military status from those annoying Chinese hackers we've been reading about.  We would all be so much better off if the Chinese would just concentrate instead on their usual perfected activities of daily living which involve theft of copyrighted material, procuring illegal ivory to maintain erections, breathing toxic air, drinking water equivalent to raw sewage and, not to forget, skinning dogs alive by the thousands as they whoop it up during their traditional barbaric subhuman festival feasts.  But enough about the finer qualities of the Chinese.

Look, I was so gratified when your envelope arrived, and on the surface in large letters these words greeted me, with American flag images adorning the piece:

Robert Barrow, show your family and friends what a real hero looks like.  You've earned your place in an elite group of veterans and patriots who wear the United States Armed Forces Ring with pride.

Me, a hero?  I, who never fought in combat and only treated patients in Air Force hospitals stateside, never on a battlefield?  Earned my place?  Elite?  What ring?

Obviously, further examination of your envelope's contents was required.  I flipped it over and saw pictures of four rings signifying military service, along with the words,  A shining tribute to veterans of the United States Armed Forces in recognition of your service to America.  Wow, I thought, this is getting better and better.  Let me get this straight -- you folks at the Danbury Mint want to recognize my service to America with a ring?  I mean, that's what the page read.  Further, at the bottom it says,  Personalized FREE with your name when you reply within 12 days.  Aha!  There's even a picture of a ring with my first name printed inside.  So that's it -- you're giving me a ring to thank me for my service.  Well. . .

So, I opened the tri-fold cover page and found more literature inside, and displays which include large, colorful images of four gold-plated, diamond-surfaced rings, one each representing the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy.

This is the ring that tells the world what you stand for. . .Twelve dazzling diamonds are the shining reflection of your patriotic pride.  Your ring is custom-designed for your branch of service and engraved with its motto.

Oh, this is where I was almost bouncing off the walls with self-satisfaction!  Me, a proud patriot, yet?  I needed to think back, because the last time I saw an Air Force base was over 40 years ago, and thinking even further back, I joined up with the Air Force after the military draft pursued me, right down to the pre-induction physical, during the Vietnam Era.  Hmm, as I recall I didn't exactly enter military service as an act of proud patriotism, it was more like an offer I couldn't refuse, no matter the choice.

But, wow, you Danbury folk want to give me a ring, "custom-designed" for me!   This is an honor reserved for a select group of men chosen from more than 20 million eligible veterans. . .Only a select few have earned the privilege of wearing it.

Well, this was all just too much, and I sat right down, prepared to complete and return the form you so kindly included -- until I read the rest of your invitation.  Whaaaaaaaat?   This is fantastic!  You're also giving me $149 to honor me for my service as a proud patriot?  Oh this it just too much, I thought.

Oh wait.  I closed in and read a little more carefully.  Oopsie:   It is yours for just $149 plus $7.80 shipping and service, payable in four monthly installments of $39.20.

Whoa, that ain't right!  Maybe I misunderstood.  Could it be that Danbury is not actually honoring me, a proud patriot, with both a ring and $149?  You mean -- you expect me, a proud patriot (your words) who served honorably as, in your words, a real hero, to pay the Danbury Mint?  Sooooooooo -- in essence, I honor myself by enriching your company with cash from my end of the spectrum?  Hmm. 

Well, even if I embraced this concept, now that my ego is deflated and I feel just a tad betrayed -- if you people already magically somehow knew I am a veteran, maybe you also should have known that my friend way back, Judy, who worked on Air Force hospital wards as a corpsman, never addressed me by name, preferring instead to call me  Little Guy.  You know what that means?  That means, even if I procured an Air Force ring from you, the moment I wore it on the street, as it radiated gold-plated and diamond glitter either under sunlight, full moon or street lamps, all the thugs naturally attracted to such reflections will gather like wolves and beat the hell out of me, not very tall or imposing Little Guy,  immediately absconding with the ring or the finger wearing said ring, depending upon the instrumentation carried on their persons.  My demise would be on your hands.  Can you live with that?

In closing, may I just say, you got it wrong -- I'm no hero, just some guy on a mailing list.  Oh, and in keeping with Internet etiquette, it's my obligation to certify that this is not a product endorsement.  And it looks as though I ain't gettin' a free ring, either.  Darned Chinese hackers.

Most Sincerely,

Robert Barrow

It's Bruno and Copernicus All Over Again

Though I've been a solid proponent for the existence of UFOs over the decades (good grief, if one cannot believe overwhelming high-level witness testimony, radar tracks and the like, what should one believe?), I get the impression that by virtue of being peculiarly open-minded I'm supposed to re-direct my tinfoil hat and embrace man-made climate change in a loving manner, no questions asked, because, well, it's the thing of the moment.  Something a little different, the current bandwagon, ready-made for rebels in search of a cause.  Like UFOs.  Not.

Sorry, no can do.  New satellite studies, apparently far more accurate than earth-based counterparts, paint a different picture than the fix required by, primarily, leftist doomsayers and international thieves.  In fact, as seems customary much of the time, the best evidence for something originates by way of a common sense investigation.  Unfortunately, common sense is now a luxury shared among the few anymore, with most street-crowd noisemakers having an inborn necessity to choose panic, rage and exotic solutions over what could be interpreted accurately simply by looking at what lies before one's eyes.  To make important decisions based upon part of the science, rather than all of the science (or science's ongoing evolution), seems to be standard policy now.  No longer is climate allowed to choose its own course.  Now, its actions must be questioned, poked and surrendered to international regulatory commissions, and the blame and expense is to be placed around our necks, no questions  asked  accepted.

Echoes of Copernicus and Bruno.  Can we not hear them?  Can we not feel on our faces every day the evidence of their profundity, as the sun's warmth invigorates our senses?

More important -- do we not understand the power of solar energy upon our small planet?  Does it take a genius to question whether the sun itself is the culprit for "global warming" and other effects upon climate?

Currently, if one steps forth as a man-made climate change denier, he or she may as well go off in the woods and talk to oneself.

How reminiscent this is of poor Copernicus, who dared suggest centuries ago that the Earth revolved around the sun, that the Earth was not the center of attraction for the sun and other heavenly objects --  and later, mathematician, theologian and philosopher Giordano Bruno sealed his own death warrant by embracing and expounding upon Copernican calculations. 

Today, we suffer legislators who actually wish to imprison, fine and punish in every legally sanctioned way possible those who deny human-induced climate change, no matter the science on this "other" side.  Except for a death penalty, members of the punishing class exhibit little difference from those grand masters of The Inquisition.

Bruno, born in 1548 near Naples, was probably a genius, but his lifetime, much like ours, wasn't always an era when original thinking was appreciated.  Indeed, Bruno was burned at the stake by The Inquisition in 1600 for daring to endorse Copernicus and rip apart further more than a thousand years of Church doctrine stating that the Earth was the center of the cosmos.  This was hardly his only blasphemy, of course, because Bruno, during his young and quickly deflated life, had questioned a wealth of "known" scientific dogma.  Prior to being burned at the stake in Rome in February of 1600, having refused to deny any of his philosophical or evidential teachings, Bruno was condemned as "an impenitent and pertinacious heretic."

Truly, nobody can deny climate change, which has always involved natural, and occasionally intense cycles around the globe.  But to endorse human involvement is a long shot scientifically because we're dealing with computer predictions vs. clearly observable data.  Yes, we have polluted the Earth substantially and a cleanup of both water and land is urgently required.  However, our influence upon climate alterations may be trace at best, not something allowing international leftists to pickpocket our money -- and surely not with papal and U.S. presidential cooperation, which would be no mere scandal.   Simply look to the sun, son.  That's where the power of change hides in plain sight.  Among radical environmentalists, how is it that the sun becomes the elephant sitting in the living room, unnoticed and unwanted at the party?  The answer, as usual, may be. . .follow the money.

Indeed, the man-made climate deniers appear to be the true heretics in this era of pseudo-science and frauds aplenty..  Getting back to The Inquisition, we are reminded of Galileo Galilei, condemned in blistering fashion by the Church for his writing,  The Authority of Scripture in Philosophical Controversies,  in which he offered:  "It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what is proved."  

I'm not sure that Galileo himself wouldn't be shaking his head over what passes for climate and "global warming" science in the current century, let alone our reliance upon computers as modern soothsayers attempting to outsmart solar influence.