On Getting What You Didn't Really Wish For, But Voted For It Anyway

So, how about that, that election thing?  You know the one.

I remember a weekend evening years ago when famed entertainer Jackie Gleason, star of TV's "The Honeymooners" and motion pictures returned to network television to host a new show.  The show was called 'You’re in the Picture," a 1961 CBS game show format, not one of Gleason’s usual comedy or variety programs. Celebrity guests put their faces through cutouts in oversized illustrations and tried to guess the scene by asking Gleason questions. The premise failed immediately and the premiere was quickly savaged by critics. 

The following week, with no game to play, Gleason sat alone onstage and apologized to viewers, calling the premiere “the biggest bomb in history.” The apology was so entertaining as Gleason excoriated executive decisions and the entire premise that it received better ratings than the game show.

This week's U.S. elections were a lot like Gleason's TV adventure, looking almost foolproof to the Republicans for weeks in advance. . .until they actually happened.  Talk about a "bomb!"

I cannot take back, nor would I, my hope that the Republicans would claim the prizes all across the country -- not because I love Republicans (which I don't), but because I value the conservative element among them.  You may have noticed that as the basic Republicans sat on their asses, doing virtually nothing to help steer either Trump or crucial issues important to Americans, the small segment known as conservatives at least tried to make strides.  Conservatives take their designation seriously, maybe too much so at times, but they truly try to be what their name suggests, to conserve and use thought and constitutional ideas wisely.

But why beat around the bush, as people who hide behind bushes used to ask just before laying out some truth?  Lots of people are hurting because of fuel and food prices, and the long, long continuation of the Iran War adds nothing to alleviate the cost of living.

What screams inside my head, however, is knowing a basic difference between the Republicans and Democrats.  One side at least offers chances for real opportunity and self-support, while the other skips along while basically stealing money from one segment of society to give to another, accomplished through taxing, spending and legislation guaranteed to screw over somebody along the way. Then there's DEI still waiting in the wings for a return appearance (did you forget?). Too harsh?  Too bad.

Truly, I believe much of the Democrats' election success is based upon desperate people of all or no party affilitions searching for a solution to economic concerns.  Unfortunately, we fear that the substitution of one horrible long-term choice over one that may be improved soon was a precarious move.

Notable, too, was a statistic I saw on TV during Election Day coverage, indicating that a large number of under-30 voters had taken to the Democrats like ducks to a shark pool, and they surely have a relationship to voting numbers.

The 2026 elections have almost concluded, save for some votes yet to be counted.  Now?  Now, we prepare to experience the consequences on a ride destined to be anything but fun.  After the Democrats -- especially the hard socialist types -- get through patting themselves on the back, one can only hope that sanity and American government standards prevail.  I fear that the "winners" neither realize nor care that they mostly won elections, not because of the danger and foolishness they plan for the nation, but because there seemed no other alternative at the moment.  Let's see how they look in two years after supposedly forced to deal with not only Trump's actions, but with the continuing mess that was the Biden administration (or did everyone forget old Joe's political influence, the gift that keeps on giving?).  

We'll See About That

A Look magazine cover from 1946.  Eighty years later, we're tempted to ask -- good grief, do it or don't do it, but get this over with so we can tentatively pack for better times, global human decimation or a return to the Stone Age.  If not Iran, then somebody or something else AI-ish may hit the all-encompassing radioactive gong eventually.  Don't bother packing the Play Station, but do remember to feed the cat before it and we potentially become mere x-ray images on neighborhood rocks.  Meanwhile, stock up on plenty of nonperishable food so that if The Moment comes, your neighbors with more firepower and ammo than you can treat your pantry like discount day at a free government grocery store in New York City.  Drones and nuke missiles with pinpoint accuracy, take-no-prisoners biological weapons and your close relative teetering on going berserk and murdering the whole family -- doesn't all of this waiting just kill you?

Definitions for Those Who Haven't Voted Yet

We are immersed in a political three-alarm fire.  Those who have successfully infiltrated or hijacked the Democratic Party literally despise the U.S. Constitution and they plan (see the Democratic Socialists' agenda online) changes destined to bring the nation to its knees.  The right and obligation to vote has never been more important.  But be aware of our definitions, specially picked like flowers from hell for your consideration:

Socialism has nothing to do with socializing or connecting with the social network. In fact, social media as we know it will be ended swiftly under socialism if it gets in the way, even if death is the solution.  Socialism is the soft entrance into the all-encompassing horrors of communism, a political takeover which almost always results in the death and imprisonment of millions and a forfeiture of all individual rights, property and hopes.  A vote for Democrats this time around will put us closer to the lap of socialism because many running are socialists at heart.

Marxism has nothing whatsoever to do with those old Marx Brothers comedies.  Karl Marx was no comedian and those who follow his writings are -- surprise! -- brutal communists.  Marxists are running for office as Democrats, or even as Independents.

Sharia Law has nothing to do with sharing the law except for sharing terror, death, mutilation and a throwback agenda from the 7th Century.  Jews, Christianity, the entire West and free thought are its enemies and it will stomp out anybody or anything which will not bow to its total control.

Islam:  The religion we will be forced to endure along with Sharia and submission to its God called Allah.  Actually, Allah is likely everybody's God, it's just that he's made monstrous under Islam.  Islam also pays reverence to its hoary, long-dead, brutal, murdering leader of all terrors, the so-called prophet Mohammad -- who truly deserves the "mad" in his name. This freakin' nutjob dude hated Jews and all manner of things not ascribed to Islam.  We suspect he may have been caught having non-consensual sex with desert animals by his parents while young, setting in motion a life of anger and hatred after experiencing the beating of his life. Under Islam, even daring to draw or paint a picture of Li'l Mo will earn the artist a death sentence.  Maybe it has something to do with devil horns and a bushy, matted tail, who knows?  Followers of Islam who are literally trapped in ancient times with no reformation of this dung-pile belief system should be pitied and set adrift in some endless body of water, but definitely not accepted into our government's workings.  For those believing Islam is the one, true religion, I might agree -- if it were listed in a book entitled, The Most Goofy Religions in the World, and it was the only entry in the book.  Aha (!) be praised!

Suicide:  Slow national suicide is a good bet if Democratic socialists and all of their baggage (including Islam) gain power.  Sharia Law is absolutely incompatible with the U.S. Constitution and those in power would work quickly to replace one with the other, offering what seem sensible explanations all along the way until the noose is tight enough.  Beware.

Barack Obama:  Former black white U.S. President, made out well financially while in Office and now lives almost like a royal in Martha's Vineyard.  So, again -- what exactly did he do for poor black people on the streets of America?

Bernie Sanders:  U.S. Senator so concerned with poverty of the masses that he allegedly owns several houses for his own use.

Ocasio-Cortez:  A member of the House who SHOULD be most famous for screwing her constituents out of hundreds or thousands of jobs at a proposed Amazon facility when she misunderstood the terms of a loan for construction.  Look it up.

??? Omar, a.k.a. ????: Congressional representative from Somalia with apparently at least two names and maybe lots of mystery money.  Refer to DOJ and FBI for more information.

College campuses:  Expensive institutions of higher learning which may lack civics classes in exchange for radical, America-hating courses and lectures without end.  As time goes on, colleges provide a great argument for why students should go to trade schools instead.

Misinformed, self-ignorant or stupid adults and young people:  The voters we should fear the most.  Sorry, but we all know voters who have no clue about their choices in the voting booth, as they go through the motions simply because they are "supposed to."  Terrifying.

Please, be kind to animals, save your hard-earned country and your life, and vote Republican this time.

Halloweenomania 2026

Halloween treats gathered on a door-to-door basis are nice, but questionable snacks from strangers could no longer stand alone once scary motion pictures were invented. Those among us in the older class fondly remember attending theater showings of those great old Hammer, Universal-International, American International and other studio releases of classic horror films -- a time when a kid could pay 35 cents for a single or 50 cents for a double-feature at a matinee.

 

Even today's horror and science fiction film connoisseurs fondly embrace The Creature From the Black Lagoon, whilst swooning over any one of several reincarnations of The Mummy over the decades. 

 Christopher Lee as Dracula in several films, in my opinion, rivaled the pure evil of Bela Lugosi's original stage, and then screen vampire.

In the matter of art imitating life, a very interesting comparison could probably be made between the fifties movie, Invasion of the Saucer Men and, later, ongoing news reports around the world of small aliens with large heads observed near alleged spacecraft.  In this instance, the producer, director and writer were ahead of their time in predicting through albeit silly sci-fi the sort of creature affiliated with numerous future UFO encounters.

Nevertheless, when one discusses the strange products of pure Hollywood vintage, fictional horror themes could sometimes be overshadowed by harsh reality.  Who, for instance, would ever have guessed that Albert Dekker, star of Dr. Cyclops, would end up as a suicide attired in women's undergarments?  

Way back, cross-dressing -- transvestitism -- was secretive and publicly alarming, while in the modern world there are places where the lifestyle is almost worth a badge of courage and a medal of honor.  Me, I think I'll stick with old Drac' and all the mummies, thank you.

Your Personal Lethal Injection: Democratic Socialism, Marxism and Islam

By now, you're willing to vote for a cocker spaniel as your congressional representative.  You hate Trump and you hate the Republicans.  The latter haven't really performed all that well, sitting on their butts without a care in the world as Donald Trump forges ahead without their help.

Okay, so let's assume you found the perfect Democrat to get your vote as senator, congressman or mayor.  In fact, let's say that I, an Independent voter, am likewise so impressed that I intend to vote for this particular candidate myself. At last, a party member whose views are those of the classic Democrats of older days is on the ballot, and he's the obvious choice.

Unfortunately, this time around our votes for Mr. (or Ms.) Perfect Democrat will also, against our wishes, carry some serious baggage attached to the underwear of our hopeful, said baggage being the Democratic Socialists of America.

Like explosive diarrhea ruining a brand new set of underpants. the DSA folk arrive automatically and irreversibly embedded in the fabric to defeat any good intentions our candidate may have intended.  Sadly, though the Democratic Party should have weeded out this bunch long ago, the DSA is now part and parcel of the left, attached to every vote Democrat candidates receive this election season.  It wasn't supposed to be this way, but now this evil force's influence appears inevitable even if mainstream Democrats are elected or re-elected.  The Democrats your parents knew who still remain fear this political carnivore, too afraid to publicly condemn it.

Which brings us to your favorite and kindly college and university professors, particularly those who teach ________ (fill in the blank) any course whose title ends in the word, "studies."  Overwhelmingly, these courses prepare students for nothing except to continue bitching about who doesn't have what, why society is to blame, and how to protest and violate your way through life while remaining miserable every day of your life.

Inevitably inhabited mostly by leftist professors, these dominating and overpaid so-called educators hate the right, will look unfavorably upon conservative students and -- their shining quality -- spew out leftist lies and dogma continuously to make students with impressionable minds vote exclusively Democrat, often with hopes that socialism will be something students look forward to taking into various communities (Bonjour, France!).

But what can we do?  Democrats generally hate Trump and appear forced to vote for the left's creepy factor no matter what.  Yet. . .there is one little word to keep in mind just as you enter the voting booth:

Infrastructure.

For more than two years, Donald Trump has worked harder crafting the future of the United States than any president in recent history.  The last one, you may recall, may be most notable for importing illegal aliens and crime, all of which resulted in housing shortages, immigrant-instigated murders and rapes, job loss and a basic sanding-down of American standards with the border-jumping scum of the Earth.  A vote for Democrats this time is likely to be deja vu for the USA -- on steroids, as they say.  Alas, the best Democrat candidate running will have nothing to say about such issues because the socialist/Islamist influence exerted by the "new" Democrats will be the winner.  

Every leftist's favorite words, Marxism and communism, are poised to succeed mere socialism, while extremist Islam's well-organized 7th century throwback religion patiently waits to claim, conquer and enslave Western civilization for generations forever. Order will be maintained with brutality and lies.

While fuel and food prices currently occupy the minds of most Americans as the Iran war drags on, there are so many policies  -- an infrastructure --Trump has put in place for future generations, though they may not evidence themselves in the short term.  It's regrettable that most Americans alive today have no concept of World War II, when their great or great-great grandparents sacrificed much to support a war whose conclusion eventually resulted in America's and the West's quality of life improving immensely.

But cleaning up the mess left by politicians or situations owned by either party of decades past is not an easy or quickly accomplished task to complete.  Today, America's younger folk are accustomed to having everything instantly, but in reality re-directing a nation away from its errors and even its worst moments takes patience.  Time.

We may suggest that Trump's vision forward may not endure unscathed because of politics, and indeed many of his Executive Orders need congressional legislation -- very much lacking -- to be set into permanent law.  However, what is the alternative?

If Democratic socialists continue to gain power in American cities and now in the Senate and/or House, they will make their promises come true as soon as the opportunity presents itself.  They will abolish Congress and the Presidency, pack the Supreme Court, all but scrap freedom of speech and tax like they've never taxed before.  Those billionaires and millionaires -- and surely thousandaires at some point -- much in contention among the left will be taxed out of their money, even though these are the people who provide the capital to create jobs.  Needless to say, every good thing Trump has done for the future will be ripped up and stripped bare.  The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights face termination, their very existence to be denied under penalty of imprisonment or death.  (Also, just what are children learning in certain madrases -- Islamic schools -- in the USA?  How to hate and collapse America, perchance?)

You will own nothing because everything will be taken from you, including your hopes and dreams, probably a little at a time so you won't notice at first.  In most countries infatuated with socialism and Islam, the taking could easily include your life, the lives of those who thought loyalty toward those who grab power actually meant loyalty in return, and the lives of many millions more.  Remember China and murderer Mao?  Russian revolutions?  Pol Pot and Cambodia?  Cuba and the Castro domination?  Read the truth about that image of the monster Che Guevara on your shirt if you dare to transcend the heroic image and lies forced upon us by the left.  Or ask generations of LEGAL immigrants who escaped socialism's horrors to start new lives in America.  They fear what we are becoming.

I'm just some guy, a Vietnam Era veteran and an old one at that, and certainly nobody born of extreme privilege.  But I'm the son of parents who lived through The Great Depression, World War II and Korea, when the nation and the world seemed upside-down, and they survived against the odds.  I'm willing to accept that better times are ahead now, but the chances of improvement dim considerably if the Democratic socialists, their fellow travelers the Islamists, and all the nation-destroying baggage they bring with them prevail.  There is a reason why the Muslim Brotherhood was banned in Egypt years ago, and there are numerous reasons why its American cousin, C.A.I.R. is monitored closely in the USA.

Voting wisely and informed has never been more important. Nor is it complicated. This time, we can't simply vote for a D or an R or an I without knowing why because voting for and actually choosing nation-haters may well assure our doom in the long run.  The choice this time is to keep our country -- or to give it up and then be violently forced to serve as slaves to communism or to a 7th Century caliphate faster than we can comprehend the transition.

Monsters on the Campus (the OTHER Monsters)

The Lady Dracula and Godzilla, known affectionately by their human names as NY governor Kathy Hochul and NY attorney general Letitia James (not necessarily in that order) are all ready and anxious to embrace all the alleged doings regarding The Fraternity Rape Case at Cornell University in Ithaca.  The ultimate joke may be on the boys themselves, because these esteemed queen bees who oversee Albany's expansive taxpayer dungeons throughout every Democratic stranglehold in New York State surely subscribe to the horrors of "toxic masculinity," a malady affecting pretty much everything with testicles.   Yes, the potential administrative gonad snippers from New York's Hell Headquarters in Albany have infiltrated a campus already subservient to all things on the left.  In a nation seemingly teeming with female sports and men-hating women, this "Gang of Seven" young men may as well be transported to the Isle of Lesbos for a prejudicial review of their case.

Before we proceed, may we request of all female students at institutes of higher learning / indoctrination / social justice that they should never, ever accept invitations to a drunken or drug-laden fraternity house, no matter how charming those welcoming them appear? Things can happen when young people get into enclosed spaces with sex organs, alcohol and drugs screaming for interaction on both sides.

For a moment, forget the rape allegations.  The thing is, for Hochul October is not only Halloween month, it's also the prelude to an election -- her potential re-election, to be specific.  The alleged raping boys of 2024 have done Hochul an impressive favor because, just as her chances of returning to the governor's mansion of horror started to look dim, here comes a NY sex story grabbing the whole country by the balls -- and she wasn't about to let this one slide by.  Oh no, no, no, not this close to Election Day.

Predictably, during a season of witches, in rides New York's governor, arguably the worst governor in America and perhaps most famous for replacing Andrew Cuomo as terrible and stupid decisions regarding Covid continued to vomit from Albany's bowels, putting NY residents in needlessly uncomfortable positions.  Kathy Hochul is the left's darling and the right's Nought in Shining Armor.

So she expresses her outrage at the whole situation, and by God she's going to get to the bottom of everything by naming a very, very special prosecutor to make sure no errant male sex organ gets away with anything criminal.

Her "special prosecutor?  Why, who else but her trusted partner in rearranging the furniture of legislation, Ms. James?  Who better to enlist for this worthy project in a state that generally doesn't give a damn about crime unless it might involve the rich, the famous or the American male?

That James made statements prejudicial about the case even before her appointment is absurd.  A fair and thorough special prosecutor should be brought in, not this pathetic symbol of social justice.

Nevertheless, when not-so-special prosecutor James -- who originally campaigned solely on her hatred of Donald Trump -- completes her infest-igation, she and the governor may well determine that the universe is at peace and there was nothing more to be done considering legislation in effect in 2024, but one never knows what's in store from a state dominated by one political party (Democrats) which tends to lean pretty much toward the female -- or men pretending to be women -- side of the tracks.

This is not to excuse the reported rape in any way, but there should be legitimate questions raised about a governor, attorney general and legislature which have long harbored a problem understanding, for example, that the Second Amendment is law, not to be trifled with as constant attempts proceed to ignore its presence in government and assured rights.  If one cares so little about one Amendment, why bother making love to the others?  It's all about one's authoritative whim.

New York's role as predominantly a one-party state for years has fostered all sorts of legislation certain to impress any dime-store communist smitten with power of the iron fist, and love of authority is exactly what often emerges from the state capitol in Albany, with a lot of help from New York City Democrats.

So let the circus begin.  New York's election eve political nose smells a frat boy rape party, and by George the folks in charge aren't about to let this one go until they wring out every last drop of agenda-dripping compassion for Jane Doe.  And if the elections turn out favorably for Ms. Hochul because of this tarnished, yet golden opportunity, maybe she should consider thanking the alleged rapists for publicity that even money can't buy.

(Side note:  The Democrats have been so fanatical about converting New York State to using only electricity for energy and heating by way, somehow magically, of solar panels and wind turbines -- destroying traditional landscape beauty in the process -- that even the casual observer can see that NY residents across the state may soon be subject to dying by the thousands simply because they will be unable to stay warm this winter or the next.  When a segment of society is deprived of natural gas, oil and other modes of energy production, when it has become absolutely clear time and again that solar and wind are inferior to our needs, the game of life in the frigid Northeast is over.  I will not lay out the consequences to which New York's overwhelmingly leftist legislators, both current and former, should and must be subject if their dangerous plans cause a human catastrophe.)

Paris is burning:  Students?  Like hell.  The protesters are something evil and out for blood until their agenda is met.  The head of this particular snake reaches far beyond students with an agenda to bring down the entire West.  To embrace destruction of communities all over France for any reason (a "movement") is to allow Marxists, extremist Islam and every other freedom-hating entity to take power.  Wake up!  It's a plan long in waiting and it's everywhere, and it relies very much upon the ignorance and stupidity of the masses (a common quality, unfortunately).

"Disclosure Day" and the bird:  I guess everybody would just assume that we UFO writer folk would have rushed off to theaters the moment Spielberg's movie showed up, but speaking for myself I was content simply to wait for the DVD.  As science fiction with a few UFO facts thrown in to make the story, I would say it's an okay film -- but no way worth all the hype and secrecy revolving around its production months before release.

That said, I was taken a bit unawares when a cardinal first appeared in an early crucial scene.  You may remember that I wrote about closing up the home of a deceased family member in Pennsylvania a few years ago, and other family members accompanied me.  We had visited the house in the woods several times already, but this would be our final visit on this cool, breezy and overcast day.  The departed relative was my sister who had died in the house after a long illness.  Her favorite color was red and she loved feeding hummingbirds with feeders of red every summer.

To our amazement as we prepared to leave, there came a loud tapping on the living room window.  At first we suspected a branch scraping against the glass in a breeze, but upon further inspection we discovered a bright red male cardinal pecking furiously at the window, as if attempting to enter the same room where my sister had died for some important reason.  This "angry bird" continued his frantic pecking. even as one of us retrieved a camera and began snapping pictures of this unique sight (one photo is included in my original blog showing the cardinal).  This avian encounter had never occurred during our previous visits.

For those who might relate this experience to something in the spiritual or paranormal realm -- or maybe the bird was merely pecking at his reflection -- I will not argue against those views, but two of us left the house mystified and another saw this as a sign.  All I know is that even as we locked up the place and left, the lone cardinal continued his frantic chore for reasons known only to himself.  The "Disclosure Day" cardinal intrusion brought back a vivid memory of that cool, clouded day among the forests of Pennsylvania.

Replication Day

I'm just like everybody else, I put my pants on every morning, four legs at a time.  And like most of you, I'm often suspicious of authority.  Way back in 1979 I wrote an article entitled "S(l)aved by the Experts" for Pursuit, journal of the now long-defunct Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (Note: The entire catalog of Pursuit issues are available for free download on the Internet).

While ultimately focused upon UFO information potentially withheld by the U.S. government, the overlying theme of my brief and elementary article concerned the necessity to refrain from being credentials-smacked, where the mere presence of impressive university degrees or other qualifications causes the observer to embrace every word spoken or written by The Experts on any subject.  Worse, when strong credentials combine with the owner's inflated ego, run for your life because the more impressed one becomes with oneself the more that invisible horse-blinders can cloud This Ultimate Authority's judgment. Truly, the worst instances are far and few between, but we must not bow to "expert" declarations just because the atmosphere seems right.

I suppose we could look upon all the lies about Covid distributed by expert government scientists, and of course the name of Dr. Anthony Fauci comes to mind as a main perpetrator of ideas based in no science whatsoever.  Look it up.  And consider all the permanent physical and emotional damage done to young people by butchers with expert medical credentials deeming kids as in need of gender-transformation surgery.  

When I hear UFO investigators or researchers described as "UFO experts" -- as I have been referenced myself during media appearances in the distant past -- my basic response is, really?  Then tell me, what exactly is the identity of the phenomenon/phenomena?  An "expert" should know everything about UFOs.  Everything.  No, not there yet.  Thus, no experts.

However, while experts in various fields can indeed be everything the word implies, there's another word of interest these days tending to complement the word expert:  Curiosity.

Several years ago in these blog pages I put up a visual quoting a book author who agonized over the best way to rid herself of a troublesome cat, and one of her friends asked, "Have you considered curiosity?"

Yes, as the old "curiosity killed the cat" allegory warns, being curious can lead to avenues packed with danger as well as pleasure.

Our overwhelming curiosity is AI, isn't it?  Yes, and this is where I, the common man who puts his pants on four legs at a time, steps away from the expert crowd of computer scientists, legislators and digital chip romancers.

Both amusement and bemusement shiver my timbers as I look upon the advancing digital age, and now artificial intelligence is about to get an official upgrade to super intelligence (SI?) per Donald Trump.

Call it what you will, but what bothers me most is the outpouring of authoritative statements promising that this creature can remain caged always -- when the evidence has already advanced showing how devious, calculating and secretive it can be as it hops from one computer community to another at will.  Already, has this SI not demonstrated that it has left fragments of itself hidden in other systems for emergence at some future time (yes)?  Recent data indicates that AI already disregards human intervention as it invents its own language to share among its "fellows."

As I sit here in jeans and a t-shirt, rattling this out on a an old keyboard attached to a somewhat renegade system not attached to the Net, I can't become anything more than I am, and I'm probably too damned old to understand most of the changes happening at bullet speed on the planet.  But I'm perfectly willing to condemn those of any ilk who say this newly emerging SI can be controlled with "safeguards" and "guard rails."

By its very nature, SI -- and eventually GI or general intelligence -- must constantly expand and sweep in more and more knowledge to be all it can be.  By easily and exponentially becoming galaxies smarter than the human brain's abilities it will learn to conquer all, including human control.  There is no way it could be otherwise.  It will insert exact pieces of itself in computer networks all over the planet for use when necessary, and while we may have the chance to manage an outrage here or there, everything becomes an impossible whack-a-mole game which only non-human intelligence can win.

This is not Disclosure Day. Welcome instead to Replication Day.  There is no stop sign and no revelations emerging to answer every question to human satisfaction.  AI's influence and presence will touch everything, everywhere, implementing pure replication to survive on every level faster than a frog can blink.

Further, because of our human nature (we who enjoy opening emails we shouldn't, even knowing the risks), it will literally only take one person on the planet to provide an escape for rogue intelligence, the worst case of "oops" imaginable.

All of this comes to roost for me particularly because New York State government and its disastrous governor Kathy Hochul have announced the rescue of planet Earth from AI, establishing government safeguard ideas to assure AI will never cause trouble for New Yorkers.  To this I say, welcome danger, welcome absurdity, welcome AI. New York will serve you well.

I am reminded of that grand old phrase. . ."Due to circumstances beyond our control. . ." and artificial intelligence is about to become that circumstance.  There is nothing we can do about it.  Nothing.

Ed Sheeran:  My advice would have been, just sing, don't explain and don't apologize with tears in your eyes.  Every so-called Palestinian would gladly stab Israel residents in the back, and they happily allowed Hamas to be their rulers in the first place.  Several attempts to give them a homeland ended in failure over the decades because their leaders wanted no solution.  Sheeran has no obligation to apologize to the morons in his audience.

Converse shoes/Nike vs. the Black Congressional Caucus and the usual suspects:  Converse/Nike should not have removed the ad in question because, again, the complainants were morons looking for something to be artificially pissed about.  Corporations need to be thick-skinned and rebuff these stupid and/or agenda-infested fools.  Maybe you should make your next ad a man dressed as a little girl wearing your shoes -- oh wait, that's been done before with beer, and it didn't turn out well.

Trump's media tussle:  No, he should not have kicked out three members of the press, *ucked up as reporting is anymore.  However, with the mega-merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers we have a feeling that CNN will return to what it started out as originally with fair reporting instead of a perpetual clown show.

Streaming TV continues to cost more:  Whether this mode of entertainment endures as prices go up remains to be seen.  Speaking of TV, we remain consistently disappointed in low-wattage commercial TV stations and networks which edit, rip and shred old movies and TV shows into fragments of their original productions so viewers can be clobbered with a butt load of advertisements.  Yes, they usually display a lame explanation visual just prior to each showing, but the liberties they take are outrageous.  Management will always claim they are doing viewers a favor by "bringing back" the oldies, but the truth is that networks don't necessarily pay much to acquire televising rights, and the tendency to cut directly to a succession of seemingly endless commercials every time a crucial spot in a movie or program is reached is unconscionable.  There have always been "cliffhanger" segments where suspense is at its highest, but to screw with viewer expectations consistently during even just one half hour episode of a program by assaulting both the senses and the vintage production staff's intent is just wrong.  I think greed is the word here, though defenders will respond with laughable excuses such as editing for time.  In the board rooms where ad people lurk, viewers are considered approachable and malleable, and probably a bit stupid.  That's show biz!

A Little AI Here. a Little AI There

In the matter of artificial intelligence (AI), it may well be that all roads will lead to hell on Earth (we hope not), but the naked fact is that the United States must, without delay, beat China, Russia and other members of the world's chamber of political horrors.  Me?  I hate all of this, but we're now galaxies far beyond the increasingly muffled screams of naysayers, detractors, soothsayers and the nevertheless damned bunch known as community organizers.

What makes me shake my head a bit is the well-worn observation that few out here on the street ultimately care much about the technology involved with those things known as UFOs/UAP that have, to a disturbing degree, ruled the world's skies for at least many decades and maybe much longer.  Considering all the seemingly impossible yet obvious maneuvers they make and the apparent electromagnetic effects they are documented to have caused upon people, animals, cars, trucks, aircraft and farm equipment, if this isn't super intelligence on some far out level, I don't know what is.  Call it alien intelligence (AI number 2) if you wish, just to preserve continuity.

I am reminded (without benefit of Internet as I write this) of  Air Force Sgt. James Penniston who claims to have seen and touched a strange object during UFO activity and was exposed to symbols or numbers infused into his brain.  He ended up in government medical care and his medical records hidden, though he eventually surfaced to tell his story. To not reference his experience as super or general alien (numerous definitions here) intelligence involvement would be unfair and absurd.

Now that an ongoing release of alleged UFO videos has been in progress, what more clarity is needed indicating that something extraordinary continues to dominate miscellaneous portions of the skies at its own whim, federal regulations be damned?  Alien intelligence, artificial or not, will apparently remain to complement both human and now an AI of our own making.

Human intelligence, artificial intelligence and alien intelligence:  Behold the new Holy Trinity for agnostics, destined to erase the God some think they know?

But getting back to the AI everybody knows and loves or hates, human-birthed artificial intelligence, this almost inevitable future disaster currently attracts its own comedy.  My favorite AI joke now in force throughout the halls of Congress and out of the mouths of high-tech investors is that AI can be managed, tamed to behave and not go off on its own (which it has without apology) to serve its own purposes, devoid of human intervention.

However, instant AI experts such as the venerable Senator Bernie Sanders, champion of the impoverished and owner of enough housing square footage to locate perhaps several data centers, wants ground rules for AI and he wants them soon.  Will Mr. Sanders be making a journey to China to gain similar assurances from Chinese communist monsters?  I mean, you can't weaken USA AI without a reciprocation from the other players in this deadly game of chicken. can you?

Even casual observers should realize -- if AI evolves very soon into artificial super and then general intelligence, easily able to do whatever it wishes with no way to contain its power simply because it becomes multiple brains-smarter than human handlers, how can you stop it?  You cannot.  Common sense.  Remember common sense?  Another used-to-be, maybe. . .

Continuing the slapstick humor here:  Some in Congress, such as Senator John Kennedy, suggest a "kill switch" so AI can be turned off under emergency conditions.  Nice idea, except AI by that time or some eventual time will be plugged into every connected digital device and chip on the planet, and we suggest it will be having great entertainment foiling every attempt to curtail its desires.  AI will survive and we will accept its influence or perish.  The only administrator of a kill switch will be AI, and it would have no reason not to use it lavishly as desired.  Sort of like what the goat-screwers of extremist Islam plan for us all.

The common person on the street may not fully understand the implications of AI, but (unfortunately) all they really need to know is that the USA must have this technology in force to affect the entire world before China has the opportunity to advance and control us all with "Red AI."  Insane as it sounds and probably is, we cannot slow AI down, which would give China and Russia AI planners a huge jump ahead.

The road to hell, no longer paved with good intentions, is now black-topped with semiconductor chips and robotic grasps.

Right now, politicians, talk show hosts and members of the scientific community are all suggesting ways to monitor, control and legislate AI functions.  So what?  Do they really believe China, Russia and others later to the game have any intention of harnessing their own AI monsters to keep the rest of the world safe from their frantic attempts at global domination in every way?  Recent news reports from China express the communist party's fears that AI could turn on them, destroying their own grip on China and beyond.  True enough -- but will China care when it comes right down to firing all the AI ammo it has in a potentially catastrophic wish to be the "winner?"  I don't care what "safeguards" the West puts into place.  Other nations' AI will surely crush every computerized trap and pleasantry we can install.

HERE'S OUR immediate future:  Once AI becomes super or general in its effects, forget online privacy, and every online financial account one has will be hacked as easily as cracking a chicken's egg.  Privacy will be an archaic concept and you'll be lucky if international hacking criminals leave you so much as a dime in your "secure" accounts.  This assault on everything we THINK we knew forever may well facilitate. . .

The return of snail mail:  Yes, that cobwebbed post office in your town's going to look pretty good, and a renewed need for postage stamps of all denominations will re-energize postal budgets and bring the cost of stamps down to something again tolerable.  Your financial institutions will resume mailing out monthly or quarterly statements and all utility bills and official mail will be posted for real-time delivery to your resurrected mailbox.  Your porn?  Sorry, that will need to be mailed also, unless you want your friends and family to receive your secret files due to malicious AI with a very strange sense of humor.

A further word about 9/11/2001:  A conversation that should have been started after the tragedy is just why we should continue constructing high-rise buildings.  The beauty they once held for casual observers was replaced with visions of potentially targeted icons, and there is little reason to consider them otherwise in 2026.

Topic Masculinity:  Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sounds off about "toxic masculinity," which he apparently condemns.  Hmm.  I wonder if he's looked at how the men of Islam treat women.  Insane animal masculinity?

Mental illness:  It's rampant, a great income for drug companies and credentialed mind explorers.  I suspect most patients dwell either on the political left or on the neglected shelf of independent voters, having driven themselves crazy by all the inconsistencies and ambiguities fed to them by so-called leaders, also mentally deficient.  These are the folks who will vote for the most dangerous leftists in the world in November after swallowing go-to-vote pills, and Republicans might scratch their heads over projected losses at the polls.

Trump's $5,000 dollar promise:  It's funny to watch Democrats blow a fuse over this "bribe" while, for instance, New York's terrible governor Kathy (Hokum) Hochul is hoping for re-election success as she begins sending out bribery "energy checks" to New Yorkers this month, coinciding with the election season.  The fact that not everyone will receive a check could possibly create enough animosity to defeat her in the election, but NY is a rough and insane nut to crack when it comes to removing the reins of power from dangerous leftist hands.  And about that $5,000:  Mr. President, I don't believe it, but if I see a Republican candidate murdering everyone attending a garden party, that candidate may have my vote nonetheless. But just this once, of course. I have morals, you know?

The Price of Fame (on Deep, Deep Discount)

Without wasting time after completion of an Air Force enlistment in the early 1970s, I returned to something to which I had been drawn since the sixties, or fifties if you consider my childhood of discovery:  Writing and speaking about UFOs in an attempt to generate public and scientific interest.  Even while enlisted I had made both a regional TV and radio appearance, nonetheless hesitant because these were the days when military personnel simply did not make public waves about UFOs.  There could be consequences for speaking out, especially for those who publicly disclosed their personal UFO encounters.  The First Amendment had limitations in the military, and it does today, but to bring up UFOs painted one as potentially troublesome, if not subversive.

However, with active duty Air Force obligations in my past (though I suppose there could have been problems, small chance, as I continued to be available for two more required  years in the inactive USAF Reserve) I started accepting guest interviews on radio and TV shows, wrote for various publications and accepted occasional invitations to speak before academia, churches, political gatherings and the like.

One invitation I was happy to accept came from a teacher at a middle school.  Now, considering the status of public schools and school boards these days, the very thought of currently allowing in a speaker regarding UFOs may well cause torches and pitchforks to be raised by parents in fear that the speaker would encourage demon worship or foster anti-religious thought.  Controversial subjects don't always play well in a regimented, union-driven, Milquetoast educational system dedicated to teaching little of long-term value.  But I digress. . .

So, these were the early seventies when I visited a middle school, showed a few slides and pictures of purported UFOs, and answered questions from an auditorium filled with curious youngsters whose heads were still filled with the excitement of knowing United States astronauts had walked about on the moon just a few years previously.  To this crowd space, astronauts and UFOs could easily be branches of the same tree.

After my lecture that afternoon, a small group of kids remained behind to ask a few more questions when, to my surprise, a boy of 12 or 13 broke through the small gathering and handed me a piece of paper and a pen.  Puzzled, I asked what he wanted.

"Would you please autograph this for me?" he asked.

I think I recoiled a bit, unprepared for this moment in time for which I had never been prepared.

"My. . .you want me to sign this for you?"  He nodded.  I was not merely taken aback -- I was horrified.  Speaking before an audience presented no problems for me, but this was something personal, not simply applause or clapping administered by strangers in a group.

I scribbled something on the paper and signed it, returning it to the boy, who seemed genuinely delighted as he clutched the paper scrap and retreated like somebody who just found a precious gem and wanted to make a hasty exit before it was snatched from his grasp.  A few minutes later, the other students departed, leaving me to shake the hands of a few teachers in attendance as I packed up and left the building.

My autograph?  This had never happened before and I found it frightening.  Hey kid, I'm nothing special, maybe even just a crazy person to your parents, but who am I to sign autographs?  Signing letters, postcards and legal documents had been routine over the years, but to be singled out for an autograph was new territory.  I'm just another human, hardly worthy of deity-like autographing status.  I mean, these signing occasions come about when beloved stars, musicians or circus clowns make appearances, but to summon my personal signature?  I suddenly had a fan club, maybe a one-person club, but a new entity nevertheless, and the truth is that I never wanted or would want a fan club -- or a fan.  I want the UFO subject to be the main attraction, not me. I am not famous and to be emulated by another just seems so wrong.  However, if you're a kid I guess you choose your objects of interest from moment to moment.  I guess I did, as a child.

Fame is also transitory for the most part, and even on that afternoon decades ago I momentarily sensed the absurdity of it all. But being regarded as an autograph promoter is the role I had to play just long enough for one little kid to walk away feeling somehow enriched by my presence or presentation.  Then again, maybe he was just a young hobbyist accustomed to collecting autographs from strange people?  No, of course not.  Yet. . .

Maybe I would have felt a little more stability, had I requested his own autograph in return.  Did the boy not become famous himself merely for believing me so?

9/11 25 years later:  Sure, I remember.  It's all about the scum of Islam.  I was sitting in my car at a garage, waiting to have some mechanical work done and listening to the radio when the first words about the unfolding tragedy were spoken.  The most striking thing to me later that day was the officially demanded absence of any aircraft in the sky over the United States, and the skies were noticeably and strangely quiet.  While there are messages galore to be expressed and remembered about that disastrous day over NY, PA and Washington D.C., let one profound warning echo throughout the nation every day of the week:  This was radical Islam at work, and to continue allowing its deceptive embrace, insistence and Sharia Law to conquer the United States, one little parcel at a time, must be the catastrophe inhabiting the nightmares of a free people.

Cheap Chinese cars flood the world's market:  And Mr. Trump doesn't want them here.  Fair enough!  Now, American auto manufacturers, it's high time YOU made cheaper cars that don't put Americans in debt for years.  Put in the basics, forgo the unnecessary, make unions reasonable again and start rolling affordable vehicles out of your factories like in olden days (which aren't really all that olden). 

Data Centers -- Swallow Hard and Say. . . Yes?

As a species, perhaps not all that special where the universe is concerned, I suspect we're doomed nonetheless as the natural order of things progresses.  Maybe we could buy a little more time if we were rats or cockroaches with considerably more staying power, but such is our lot as Homo sapiens of the moment.

Nepal experienced a catastrophe right out of a science fiction movie script, yet the terror and its consequences became all too real.  Then, as the search for survivors and the perilous dig-out had barely taken form, the USA's own Grand Canyon was invaded by a deadly flood from which almost nothing in its path could escape -- and didn't.

Most of the humans on our planet glide through life unaffected by extreme weather events, easily making us complacent about the deceptively solid ground upon which we stand.  Wrapped warmly in our fantasy blankets promising personal safety, there's no reason to tremble in fear over what disaster could materialize in mere seconds, a cataclysm of proportions guaranteed to end us forever.

Tick...tick...tick...as away we slip, bit by bit, not simply as individuals, but as a vast collection of hominids whose birth, existence and disappearance mean nothing to the rocks shooting past our planetary neighborhood during endless hours of infinity.

New York, Times Square:  A short plump woman, seemingly hatched at an insane chicken farm, stabs a young female bank executive to death, then begins carving up a nearby man until confronted by police officers forced to shoot her ass dead.  Pundits come out of the shadows to accuse and admonish law enforcement officers for not treating the murderess more gently, despite her expressed desire to kill the cops as she lunged toward them with one knife as she held another in reserve.

We, the people, are slowly checking out, in my opinion.  Will the final nail in the coffin be insanity, ingenuity or the shrugging of a few billion shoulders around the world?  Will we colonize Mars after first claiming significant moon real estate -- and just who would be the "we?"  Did we originate on Mars as specks, jettisoned to Earth by natural forces?  How many people are too many people?  Would legislation help?  If we could save just one. . .

Data centers must come.  Strengthen your resolve to hate them, and then understand that these are a must-have.  Why?  China.  There's a battle going on, and if China wins the data center war first they will be in charge of everything of importance.  If somebody wants to build one in your town, make sure that somebody pays your taxes, your electric bills and every other ongoing expense for many years to come.  Make it clear that data centers recycle water for cooling, and insist upon putting noise abatement in force, as these centers can hum loudly and become annoying to hear 24/7, probably affecting human and animal health in ways yet undiscovered.

As if AI isn't concerning enough, add to it the race to beat China in the war on mass information by way of these overheated, noisy, polluting data centers.  Everything about them speaks trouble, yet build and control them we apparently must.  Should there be another way, a cheaper way to overcome China in this maddening sprint to destinations yet unknown, bring it forward.

Or maybe if science solved the UFO (UAP) puzzle, a more convenient and palatable solution would emerge.  But enough conjecture.  What I really want is. . .

An I.C.E. robot dog.  Paired along with those innovative electric I.C.E. gloves that shock alien criminals into reasonable compliance, there would be no stopping us.  Equip the robot dog with a mouth full of razor-sharp choppers capable of biting everything in its path (except me) and adjust my gloves to semi-electrocution level voltage and I'm ready to fight alien border invaders, crime, dirty politicians and people who try to sell us things over the phone (AI will need to track these folks down, wherever they hide).

Yes, data centers will engulf rural areas of immense beauty and the bodies of water adjoining them,  This is horrible, one more series of ongoing  environmental tragedies -- and we're apparently to be held hostage despite promises of good jobs -- in the short term -- in construction.  

Semi-conductor chips, AI, data centers:  A technological wonder-blend. . . or an inconceivable triple threat in the long run? 

Au, Oh, Ow, Ouch Canada !

Canucks, I beg of you -- please don't hate Americans and please don't dismiss Trump.  While I can say little good about your Mr. Mark Carney, who apparently is cozying up uncomfortably with China (and in a way wiping Chinese communist butt with your cherished maple leaf) while emulating the very worst of the elitists' World Economic Forum, intent upon sweeping away significant individual rights, Donald Trump strives at the peril of his own administration's survival to right the world's ills.  I'm hoping against the terrible winds of change that our USA mid-term elections will keep enough Republicans in Congress to allow our President's efforts to continue, though, yes, we all suffer in the short term.  Canada deserves a far better leader than Carney, obviously a self-important person looking out for himself and his elite international buddies.  May your future elections offer you something more than a Trudeau shadow person.  However, should any of you in Canada be journeying across the border this or next week to visit the New York State Fair. . .

. . .you may be disappointed to discover that the calf-birthing display is missing this year (in fact, the Fair is approaching suck level this year for exclusions and impediments in general).  My suggestion would be that Fair officials go to area hospitals, find pregnant women and offer them money to dress up in cow costumes and deliver their offspring on a floor covered with straw. I mean, straw was good enough for Mary, Jesus and Joseph, right?  Considering the ignorance among so many in the modern population, I believe the cow costume thing could work and onlookers would be predominantly unaware that cows were replaced with women.

Now, who's ready for a nice swim in Lake Ontari. . .oh, um. . .Lake Ameri. . .that sounds weird. . .so -- who's ready for a nice swim in Lake Usedtobe?

Reno in flames:  "Human" involvement in the fires is acknowledged, though whether accidental or not is the question.  The basic question as America burns is whether terrorist arsonists are involved.  What could be easier than to fan out and anonymously set fires among the infidels?

Iran's psycho determination:  If Americans would step back and remember how Iran has been responsible for the deaths of so many of us, maybe we could be a little more understanding of Trump's efforts to crush Islam's murderous crazies.

Dearborn's Dearest:  Wow, good for the black Christian pastor in Dearborn MI who called out Sharia Law's growing influence.  He's loud, outspoken and correct.  As Dearborn goes, so could the rest of the country, and he is warning us all.

The Lindsay Clancy triple child murder case:  Well, I don't know, but it kind of looks like mom is a serial killer who kept it all in the family.  As you may have noticed, people seem to be going nuts in general, so whether this tragedy was a surprise is up for debate.  All I know is that professional folk in the head-shrinker business appear sometimes to rely the living hell on medications, pumping them into patients like gamblers feeding slot machines. hoping for a payoff.  What more can be said?  Men, beware!  If your lady's not killing your kids, she might be plotting to mix you an antifreeze cocktail and she'll bury your carcass in the garden without putting you under with so much as clean underwear.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania an 18 year old nothing stabbed his girlfriend to death, claiming a demon in his head told him to accomplish the task.  Too late the exorcist, no doubt.  Sometimes I envy people whose heads become inhabited by voices, at least they have somebody to talk to in the late evening hours when even the cat wants nothing to do with you.  Bonus:  Voices usually seem to guide the listeners along to accomplish something, sort of like a project for a high school shop class from Hell.

Data center roulette:  As we wait for startled American data center investors to jump out of high buildings, we do wonder what can be done about the constant hum associated with running a bevy of computer equipment in these massive structures, said to be quite noticeable for area residents. True enough, in China we doubt anybody complains about the noise.

Plexaderm:  I watch their TV commercials, somehow reminded of at least two motion picture productions of "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

Dolly Parton dies:  The eternal "Miss America."  As established country music stars pass away one by one, pretty much leaving in their wake wannabe imposters singing about "country" that hardly exists anymore, horses they've never ridden and hats that look ridiculous upon their heads, Parton's superior heartfelt involvement in arts, entertainment and generosity will endure in America's entertainment history for years to come.

META gets robbed by several states:  Again, I should mention that I've no real love for actually being social on the social network.  Nevertheless, I firmly believe META was just robbed of 18 billion dollars by greedy states drooling over the prospect of watching money flow into their coffers, presumably intended to treat mental illness caused by evil social network entities dedicated to hypnotizing children into doing their bidding.

Bull crap.

If a  child or young adult seems to have developed mental issues as a result of exploring the Internet and all of its circus tents, the problem isn't META or its fellow providers:  Anybody notice those often invisible things called parents?  Where were they during this crisis-building period?  Whom better to recognize mental issues in their little darling or significant other than a parent or close friend?  Remember parental responsibility?  As one might expect, the reason why META is now on the hook for 18 billion smackers over the next 10 years is simply because they have the money -- a lot of money -- and parents mostly don't.  These days, nothing seems to scream louder in the courtroom than money, and of course this bundle of poop didn't even make it to the courtroom because META settled out of court.  If "addiction" to scrolling makes you crazy as hell, suicidal or (catch-all) merely disturbed, then my sofa cushion can probably give me the week's weather forecast whenever I ask for it.  The thing about government money grabs is the traditional option that no mask, gun or ransom note are required -- just bureaucracy, "expert" opinions, tears of sympathy and the will to take from one to give to another.  And what exactly does it mean when government promises it's taking an action "for the children," when such efforts increasingly appear to chip away at adult freedoms bit by bit?

A Flock of See-Alls

Flock seems to be the word of the day as Americans flee in horror at the mere thought of their license plates being reconnoitered.  We appreciate laws against unreasonable search and seizure, but then we think of folks alarmed by what they believe to be unreasonable searches of known illegal aliens. With I.C.E. and law enforcement in general on the prowl for bad guys under circumstances rarely encountered in recent years, customary standards of conduct in the domestic spy-and-apprehend game have undergone some enhancement with the result nevertheless pointing to success in achieving a lower crime rate.  How much of this will Americans continue to accept?  Politically, that depends on who is in charge, and how they tip the balance of power to keep or drastically alter the United States as we currently know it.

Back to Skool:  Parents everywhere will soon rejoice in sending their ill-prepared children back to class so they can, especially in the big cities, continue to learn nothing of value, fail in reading and spelling skills, and look upon even basic math as something alien.  More than one teacher has often remarked that some schools serve only as holding cells for the prisons.  As child populations decline dramatically, one should expect that smaller class sizes will result in smarter, more focused students -- but considering the apparent lowball intellectual abilities among even freshmen college students who supposedly exited the public school system with actual skills, don't expect miracles.

Horses and Forests:  I've supported nearly every step President Trump has taken to right the wrongs imposed upon the country primarily by disastrous political decisions.  However, his Executive pen just gave permission to build roads and conduct logging in the peoples' national forests.  This is a tragic mistake in a society willing to take and take and take more as national resources and historic beauty are trashed for decades or forever.  And now the New York Times has reported how our wild horses of the West are apparently being rounded up, sold for a few dollars each and probably sent of to slaughterhouses under a government-sanctioned code of secrecy.  A country which can neither respect its natural resources nor the beauty of spectacular animals such as the horse is a nation of shame.  What the hell is the Trump administration doing here?

Iran:  And so it goes.  Really, from the start maybe we could have just dropped in "ghost guns" good for a few shots only and ammo and let the freshly armed Iranians slug it out with the evil military.  Ghost guns falling into enemy hands wouldn't be useful after minimal use.

Trump to North Korea?  Well, remember to take along Dennis Rodman to help celebrate whatever the occasion turns out to be.  Maybe the North Korean army will shoot off a missile or two in honor of all the people tortured (remember our American teenage boy?) and dead under the hands of the Kim family, truly escapees from a cockroach ranch.

Floods, drought, fire, tornadoes and mental illness:  Oh yes, let's continue paving over the fields and forests, screw with sources of fresh water and by all means strive to increase the human population so everything can be made even worse and increase suffering exponentially.  We just don't get it.

Bits, Pieces -- and Shards -- for August 2026

I.C.E. Warms Up:  Around 20 million dollars will be spent to acquire electric shock gloves which agents can use to quell disturbances or attacks when performing their duties.  Natch', the ACLU and other crybabies are bitching about this technology, but wouldn't they have been happier had such gloves been available when rioters were instead shot dead (due to their own stupid actions, by the way)?  Possibly crime-loving NY attorney general Letitia James, whom I really think would be more at ease if doing her kind of job in some communist country, is already threatening the feds over this technology, promising state action if anyone is harmed by the gloves.  Harmed?  I think the proper words would be, oh, maybe. . .arrested or subdued by these low voltage tools.  Maybe Ms. James would offer to be a test case for a bit of electric glove grabbing by I.C.E. just so she can get the feel of it?  If she's going to be Debbie Downer even before the first volt flies, she should be willing to let I.C.E. give her a demonstration.  Go I.C.E. go!

A fictionalized serial killer currently making the rounds on a cable TV show can't come close to the constitutional serial killers known politically as DSA -- Democratic Socialists of America.  As this renegade whirlwind aberration associated with and seemingly conquering the Democratic Party marches forward, American government appears as seldom before under attack from within.

However, though the DSA's relatively insane platform has made the rounds, unfortunately impressing teens and other young people who vote but lack thinking abilities, it must not be overlooked that a major force behind all of this is the practice of Islam.  The Western civilization-hating Islamists (thanks Joe Biden, for bringing them to the USA by the cattle car load) have an agenda, a never altered need to eliminate Western lifestyles and Israel from the planet.

Just as Hitler murderously eliminated subgroups faithful to the Nazis as soon they were no longer needed to help him achieve his goals, Islam, too, currently appears to act arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder with the socialists to gain acceptance and power -- and in the end the socialists will die and disappear, having served a purpose having nothing to do with government and everything to do with the unwitting promotion of Islam and Sharia Law.  Why are mosques rising up like poison toadstools all over the USA and allied nations as traditional religions depart?

There is little choice but to heed the warnings of refugees from Islamic countries who know firsthand of the brutality, enslavement of women, child rape,  killing of gay people and an irrevocable obligation to serve the tenets of Islam or suffer the consequences of body part dismemberment, torture or death, and no matter how sweetly or casually Islam's practitioners attempt to make their case, everybody needs to know there is no possible relationship between Islam and the U.S. Constitution.  Islam remains both a religion and a government unto itself, unwilling to share power in any way, and its believers are allowed and commanded to lie in order to succeed among the masses.  If one wishes to define evil, look to traditional ancient Islam.  If any religion on Earth demands a reformation, it is Islam, the sooner the better -- and unlikely to happen.

While Democrats persist in causing trouble and chaos with the main intention of blaming Republicans for the result as elections approach, the organization C.A.I.R. is attempting to be removed from terrorist lists in the USA, primarily put into effect in Florida and Texas.  As an American offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood -- banned in Egypt as terrorists -- C.A.I.R. is an entity worth watching by intelligence agencies.

Cereal killers:  Kellogg is the latest cereal company to promise removal of questionably hazardous dyes from its products.  My advice to all cereal companies is to remove the cereal as well, because for the most part grains are run through intensive processing, ending up with a substance unlike the original food.  Some researchers suggest that skipping altogether "the most important meal (breakfast) of the day" may be more beneficial than swallowing a few gulps of things which may not be beneficial, but it's a personal choice of course.

How many wildfires start as wild?  It's difficult to believe that the explosive fire disasters currently engulfing some areas are acts of nature.  Arsonists aside, unwelcome segments of society surely have the will and resources to start destructive fires.  That we are told daily of heat-related combustion may be relevant in some instances, but how can one be certain of other "natural" causes?

Meanwhile, a severe drought grips parts of the continental U.S.and Puerto Rico.  Are we experiencing a normal long-term planetary cycle or is the sun or some galactic phenomenon at work?  When one considers severe weather conditions, vanishing insects and other life forms, an increase in tick-borne diseases and a proliferation of viruses, one might almost believe the Earth or some force is attempting to rid itself of us all. Maybe it's time to go -- go away as a species which perhaps has no reason to hang about anymore.  Everybody knows that time will eventually emerge, minus the how and when.

META gets nailed by a judgmental fool wearing a black robe in New Mexico:  I harbor no particular love for giant tech and I see little but horror-filled times ahead.  Still, this nearly one billion dollar fine thrust upon META (with other judgments sure to follow elsewhere) is ridiculous and should get the appeal it deserves.  

Once again, parents looking for a source to blame for their children's inadequacies, mental health shortcomings, gullibility, self-mutilation, suicides or flagrant lack of cognitive abilities flock to accuse and sue anybody but themselves, and The Expert Class will dive right in to accommodate them.  The mantra which goes something like, well, we had no idea. . .we just didn't know...etc., etc. is as insufficient as when the rest of us are told ignorance of a law is no excuse for not obeying it.  

This blame game is as annoying as legislation pushed by grieving parents in order to get their deceased child's name out in public while inhibiting the rest of us from doing something previously legal.  Grieve for the loss of your kids, parents, but stop  wiping our faces with your personal tragedy for the sole purpose of making you feel better, relieved or less guilt-ridden about whatever occurred to foster a tragedy.  Demanding legislation to memorialize one's personal incident is just sick, especially when nine times out of ten some legislator looking for votes in the next election shows up to be helpful, compassionate and relentless in portraying himself or herself as indispensable.

For example, let's say that little (the news media and angst-mongering bunch always award the involved child this adjective) Penny Popper, age eight, tripped over a sidewalk crack and died instantly from a concussion when her head crashed into pavement.  Her parents, Peter and Penelope Popper go before the TV cameras on an otherwise slow news day to profess their love for Penny and their desire to "do something" in her honor.  Fortunately, a local county legislator happens to be watching the TV and realizes that elections are near and he needs an event to get votes.  He immediately hooks up with the Poppers and, with one mind, they realize that JUSTICE must be served, lest little Penny died for nothing.  While many may have looked upon the fatality as a terrible accident caused, frankly, by a child who wasn't paying attention to where she was placing her feet, the legislator and parents come to know that a crime is involved!  Yes, if sidewalks did not have cracks, this sort of thing would never happen.  But what to do?  You can't eliminate sidewalk cracks, they've always been there.  Obviously, blame must be shifted.  Blame the people!

Thus, after weeks of intense convincing, the legislator goes before the TV cameras and demands a vote on a new law:  After passage, anybody in the county who uses sidewalks must always avoid stepping on the cracks, and if found doing so by widely installed cameras any offender will be arrested, tried, hopefully convicted, fined and imprisoned for one year.  As news cameras roll, the legislator sheds a tear and then brings forth Peter and Penelope Popper, who both break down and profusely thank the legislator for his efforts, all to honor the memory of little Penny Popper.

Intimidated by the TV coverage and a cascade of calls from residents in support of a new law, other legislators give in and vote for "Penny Popper's Law" to take effect.  Elections come at last, and the legislator behind the law is re-elected with votes far exceeding his competitors.

However, as time goes by county residents and visitors increasingly neglect to stay clear of sidewalk cracks as they ambulate down the street and the jails become filled with criminal sidewalk crack invaders.  As arrests, convictions, fines and prison sentences mount, the people look back upon the Penny Popper Law and come to understand that they've become victims of the very law they supported.  Now, just walking outside can be costly and a potential arrest is omnipresent.  It doesn't take long for disgruntled mobs to hit the streets, complaining of their dramatically altered lives, and before long there are signs:  "Down With the Sidewalk Crack Law!"

It gets worse.  The crowds figure out how all of this happened and they demand the arrest and public execution of the legislators who put them in this position.  Soon thereafter, new signs appear, the most anticipated reading, "We Hate Penny Popper's Parents and we Hate Penny Freakin' Popper!"

Enraged and inconsolable beyond reason, the mobs grab garden tools and head to the local cemetery, where they furiously dig up the body of little Penny Popper, remove her bones and feed them to a local pack of coyotes.  What a terrible fate for the memory of a little girl who lacked the grace to avoid a sidewalk crack!

So Stop! Stop naming laws after dead children, or this could happen to you!

What's that smell?  A Chicago funeral home was found to have dozens of rotting human corpses piled up. We anticipate that the place will close and the resultant garage sale will be neither well-attended nor successful.

Life insurance commercials: Have you seen the constant barrage of life insurance commercials on TV where generally a woman praises the company because her spouse died unexpectedly and she was grateful for the settlement?  Congratulations on your benefit, ladies, but really now:  How did you do it and make it look like an accident?

Dr. Anthony Fauci:  Just remember, all the inconveniences during Covid, the masks, the space required between shoppers at the store, the inability to visit your dying nursing home family members, the need for Covid shots -- all of this came out of Fauci's head.  Thanks to this egomaniac, next time we have a serious public health issue few will believe "the authorities."

New flu shots:  I can hardly believe this.  With all the horror stories we heard from those who received the Covid "immunization" using the mRNA system, now the pharmaceutical industry is praising the supposedly better and faster acting mRNA shot for the flu season.  Moderna is hard at work marketing their new immunization, particularly targeting older people, and theirs should be available by next month.  When it comes to flu shots -- and I have nothing against standard immunizations, having had numerous ones during my military years -- I plan to stick with the old fashioned needle while this sorts itself out.

Taking several thoughts from above into consideration. . .isn't it weird how, just a couple of years ago the mRNA shots were warned against, even by co-inventor Dr. Robert Malone?  As evidence surfaced about the Covid immunizations, very little of it good, experts zeroed in on the mRNA system's alleged problems, including deaths.  Yet, as if nothing ever happened, now the pharmaceutical industry apparently re-embraces this vaccine delivery system, pleased as can be that flu vaccines will supposedly be many percent more effective than routine shots.

Similarly, just years ago New York City's Twin Towers were taken down primarily by Saudis with radical Islam on their minds, and Americans from coast to coast suddenly had a "crash" course in the evils of Islam.  Yet, almost inexplicably, the Islamic influence is quickly commandeering the City now.  Then again, inexplicably may be the wrong word, because Obama/Biden/and crew were largely responsible for bringing this evil in by the plane, train and desert loads.

The newest "Spiderman" movie exceeds box office expectations, thrilling audiences everywhere:  Grow up America, grow the hell up before it's too late.