Category: Values

Their Platform is Chaos

America, Education, Government, Health Care, Media, Politics, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

Who but limousine liberals unaffected by government policy either through exemption (e.g. Leftist politicians) or due to inoculating wealth (e.g. Hollywood celebrities or tech tycoons)… the intellectually indolent, the perpetual victims, the “low information voters” as Rush Limbaugh calls them (a euphemism for illiterate or cerebrally lazy people easily swayed by demagoguery), the race-baiters or the grievance acolytes… could possibly support the Democrats in 2020?

Really, no-one who has any self-respect – who cares about principles such as meritocracy, excellence, achievement, probity, self-reliance, self-determination, traditional sexual identification, traditional education, traditional family structure, that life (or at least the potential of life) begins at conception, that there is a God (or at a minimum a set of eternal rules of right and wrong that are immutable and transcend all generations)…could support the Democrats in 2020!

I had a conversation the other day with my Board-certified internist during my annual physical exam who, when asked for his opinion on the Wuhan Virus pandemic, started to recite the scripts of WHO, CDC, AMA, Johns Hopkins, and other canned platitudes. Little did he know at first that I spent several years running an early intervention healthcare company based on epidemiological research. When I began to confront him, gently mind you as he was about to check my prostate, with the emerging evidence that the Wuhan plague/pandemic is no worse than a bad flu and cited evidence of how faulty is so much of the data on which decisions are being made and regulations being promulgated, did he start to back off and admit that “we just don’t know.”

I was going to let him off the hook until he said, “I’m concerned, however, about the Second Wave.” At that, I asked him the question, “What is the metric that will allow kids to go back to school normally, that will allow us to stop wearing face diapers, that will signal an end to the crisis?” I was gratified that he conceded that should the Democrats prevail in the coming election, everything will all be over beginning November 4th, not because he’ll vote Republican, but because it was an admission that most of what underpins the rhetoric and discourse is political.  I then ran down the list of disastrous economic and societal consequences the government response at all levels has wrought and then, fortunately, found common ground with him as we delved into a cost-benefit discussion and both agreed that rational decision making and critical thinking was sorely needed.

My half hour session went an hour. A nurse had to bang on the door of the exam room to remind my Doc he had another patient waiting.

As I left the office I got to wondering about how it is that a highly-educated, highly-skilled physician could be persuaded to lazily rely on and spout institutional pablum. I concluded that the damage caused to all our institutions: medical, educational, social, religious, economic, even family structures has created so much chaos that even the smartest among us are overwhelmed by the tsunami of, frankly, BS that has invaded every facet of our lives. Out of sheer enervation even the strongest of us have had to pause from the fight to catch our breath. Meanwhile, the ability of the Left to sew chaos through outright deceit, lies, projection (especially projection) and carpet-bombing with idiocy has continued unabated. The megaphone in the hands of the Leftist media, regrettably, doesn’t take much electrical power.

This is precisely what the Left wants to do. Create so much chaos that only THEY can fix things. Only THEY will be able to unravel the mess…so long as they are granted unlimited power to do so. For that is their goal…POWER! I didn’t used to believe it. I thought there were Democrats who were classic liberals, who believed in the American way of life but wanted to ensure that we looked after those who truly were less fortunate, were REAL victims… No more. Now the Democrats just lust for power as they arrogantly, absurdly believe that if they control everything and everyone they’ll move us all toward their utopian fantasy. That fantasy is the stuff of socialism/communism and while they know it’s a fantasy, it isn’t about actually creating a utopia. It’s about POWER, the thing Leftist politicians must have much as water or oxygen.

We must shake off our weariness and continue to fight to expose the Left’s dysfunctional, delusional, adolescent enchantment with and pipe-dream of utopia and their deplorable thirst for power.

In a small way, having that extended conversation with my doctor made me feel like I was able to get off a few rounds in that fight.

Tactics of the Left

America, Economy, Education, Government, Headlines, History, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Values

John Hawkins is one of my favorite conservative authors. In an essay penned back in October 2017 he listed, presciently, how the Left was then destroying and would in the future destroy our culture. With full credit and attribution to Hawkins, who’s full essay is available on Town Hall, here’s a summary:

First, to quote his introduction (Note: I’ve replaced the term “Liberalism with “Leftism, “Liberals” with “Leftists”:

“There was a time when we used to be a nation that pushed freedom, responsibility, decency, patriotism and hard work. Some of us still believe in those things, but because of Leftism, much more destructive values have seeped into our culture like toxic waste. There are many ways that Leftists have degraded our culture, but these are the worst of the worst.”

And here’s his list:

1.            The Politicization of Everything.

2.            Political Correctness.

3.            Victimhood.

4.            Leftist Feminism.

5.            Tribalism.

6.            “Non-Judgmentalism”.

Today, one has only to open one’s eyes and ears to see these weapons on display. I would add to his list:

7.            Atheism. While I believe that the only Being in the universe who can prove to you whether He exists or not is God, faith is a very individual thing. By way of contrast, Atheism is a collective imposition of an ideology that doesn’t just eschew faith, but condemns and seeks to eradicate it. It’s obvious that the Left, by seeking to destroy faith, is seeking to replace God with its own brand of religion.

8.            Saturation. The Left seeks to dominate the airwaves in every form and in every medium so as to crowd out, squash, eradicate any dissent.

9.            Falsehood. “Creative Misrepresentation” is the euphemism that Leftist intellectuals use to describe the outright lying and deception used to advance their poisonous ideology. This should be obvious to any paying-attention individual.

10.          Projection. Have you ever noticed that the Left screams at the top of their lungs accusations at the Right that represent precisely what the Left is doing? There is no end to the hypocrisy and deceit they will use to achieve their ends.

11.          Hijacking the Vocabulary. “Choice”, “Social Justice”, “Democratic Socialism”, “Extremism”, “Investment (a.k.a. ‘taxation and spending’), “Science”, “Fair Share”, “The Wealthy”, “Balance”, “Liberal”, “Progressive”, “Racist”, “Undocumented Immigrant”, “Domestic Terrorist”, “Universal Background Checks”, “Assault Rifle”, “Diversity”, “Inclusion”, “Affirmative Action”, “Globalism”, “Climate Change”, “Resistance”, “Human Rights”, “Tolerance”, etc. All of these terms and countless others have been utilized, twisted, turned into Orwell’s Doublespeak, used as euphemisms or been completely destroyed and replaced by the Left.

12.          Revising History. The 1619 Project, the tearing down of historical figure statues, Howard Zinn, the vilification and attempted discrediting of historical leaders like the Founding Fathers…need I say more?

I expect if I thought about it long enough I could expand this list considerably. No matter. My readers know exactly what I’m talking about anyway, and could similarly add to it. The key is to fight, advance and not retreat in the face of these Leftist tactics.

We must pick our battles, yes, but not shun the fight.

Right Before Our Very Eyes

America, Politics, Reason, Society & Culture, Values

I just read one of the most damning and frightening exposés ever written by my most respected conservative intellectual. Victor Davis Hanson has penned a piece describing not only what is currently happening to our country and society, but also what more could happen to it if the Left gains any more power.

I strongly recommend reading the entire essay, entitled “Will 2021 be 1984”, available here. To wet your appetite, the first paragraph follows:

“Cultural revolutions are insidious and not just because they seek to change the way people think, write, speak, and act. They are also dangerous because they are fueled by self-righteous sanctimoniousness, expressed in seemingly innocuous terms such as “social activism,” “equality,” and “fairness.”

I’ve often used the fable of the frog dropped in a pot of water as well as the adage “a death by a thousand cuts” to describe what’s happening to us. The former, just in case you’re not familiar with it, teaches us that if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out. If, however, you place a frog in lukewarm water and turn up the heat gradually, it will remain until it is boiled to death. The latter, of course, refers to how we could bleed to death while hardly noticing it.

Referring to these in either case, what I’ve suggested many times is that it is by small steps and increments that the evil ideology perpetrated by the Left has infiltrated virtually every aspect of our lives. And, truth be known, it has gone past the point where we can openly criticize it for fear of our personal safety, livelihoods and property not to mention our communities. Teaching by example doesn’t work. “Hitting them up side of the head” doesn’t work. Shaming their disgusting behavior and exposing their lies, distortions and idiocies doesn’t work. Now, we have cause to be fearful that even the ballot box and our ability to vote out the fools will be violated.

Could it be that our pugilist/counter-puncher-in-chief and those on the Right, fractious and fractured as they may be, will nevertheless successfully defend what’s left of Good and triumph over Evil? Alas, I wish I were young again and had the strength, clarity of mind and resources to add my outcry and condemnation to the cause of preserving our liberty, meritocracy… in short, our way of life. I hope by bringing to the attention of my now hundreds of readers the words and ideas of people far smarter and articulate than I, I will have done a small service to countering the noxious noise with which the Left has saturated the air.

I fear that we’ve traveled so far down the slippery slope that it will take something akin to another 9-11 or a counter-revolution from within to leash or better, destroy this Leftist cancer. On the other hand, the optimistic view is that perhaps, what we’re seeing are the remaining, thrashing, death throes of a dying hydra. I pray it’s the latter and urge EVERYONE who values what’s RIGHT to courageously speak up, defend yourselves and your families against the scourge, and vote, futile as it may seem, accordingly.

Thank You Bari Weiss

America, Headlines, Media, Reason, Values

I’ve been saying for some time now that the Left will eventually implode on itself. Optimist that I am, my view has been that Right (.sic) will prevail over wrong (Left) as Americans eschew the nonsense that fills the airwaves and either: a) by example prove that the virtues of our country embodied in the ideology of the Right are, while of course not perfect, the best way to achieve the most prosperity for all and/or b) vote to support political candidates, imperfect as they too are, who support TRUE American values rather than the necrotizing vacuousness of the Left.

I sincerely believe, and I’m prayerfully hopeful I’m right, that that which fills our television screens, computer monitors and reading material these days represents the death throes of the evil hydra that seeks to gain ultimate power over our people. I used to believe that the Left was comprised of a benign, warm and fuzzyy people who just wished we “could all get along;” who believed that equality of opportunity needed to be preserved (rather than equality of outcomes). What has become obvious is that the Left truly is bent on dominating the minds and will of mankind by marshaling the forces of the Have-Nots against the Haves. In case this struggle sounds familiar, it is the essence of Karl Marx. It is war of Winners against Losers. I don’t mean winners at any cost, or losers who are such because of circumstances truly beyond their control. I refer to those who live by traditional principles like hard work and meritocracy, self-reliance and societal virtue, law and order, etc. fighting against those who don’t have the self-discipline or strength of character to adhere to these winning principles but rather envy these Winners and simply want to suck from them the fruits of their labor, their honor, their prosperity, alleging “unfairness” and all the other arguments advanced by Marx and his Leftist disciples and progeny.

And while I happen to agree with those who condemn crony-capitalism, a “the ends justify the means” approach to policy and a “winner take all” attitude towards the distribution of both resources and opportunities in our country, having lived and traveled extensively around the world I can state with unequivocal certainty that America, democracy and capitalism have done more for the advancement of humankind than any other country, form of government or economic framework in world history.

The amplifying megaphone that the internet has given to the Leftist hydra has all but drowned out voices of reason, honest debate or any view which opposes the hydra orthodoxy. Thinking people know this of course, but Bari Weiss’ scathing confirmation in her July 14, 2020 resignation letter from the New York Times corroborates and vindicates this understanding. It’s a shame. When I used to live in Los Angeles in the 1970’s I couldn’t bear to read the L.A. Times because of its Leftward inbrededness . Rather, I’d obtain copies of and/or read the New York Times because I felt, at the time, it was more balanced and much less biased.

The New York Times, of course, has become what the L.A. Times always was: a completely biased, nay, militant mouthpiece for every Leftist crackpot idea extant. Nowadays, the term is “woke”. To quote Bari, up until yesterday the Opinion Editor of the Times,

“But the truth is that intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times. Why edit something challenging to our readers, or write something bold only to go through the numbing process of making it ideologically kosher, when we can assure ourselves of job security (and clicks) by publishing our 4000th op-ed arguing that Donald Trump is a unique danger to the country and the world? And so self-censorship has become the norm.

What rules that remain at The Times are applied with extreme selectivity. If a person’s ideology is in keeping with the new orthodoxy, they and their work remain unscrutinized. Everyone else lives in fear of the digital thunderdome. Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets.”

And there you have it. It’s worth reading the entire letter which can be found here.

It takes courage to so openly and transparently swim against the Tsunami. I commend Ms. Weiss and hope her valiance will serve as an example for others oppressed by the Hydra and yearning to share what they know to be true in their hearts.

Maintaining Sanity

Entertainment, History, Society & Culture, Values

In the midst of the pandemic (I’m talking here not about the Wuhan Virus but the metastatic insanity befalling our nation), I’ve decided to do more than just turn off the ‘news’. I’ve returned to doing something that I haven’t done adequately since the beginning of the World Wide Web…READING.

But what to read. I’ve got numerous lists of “The Great Books”, but I don’t want just great literature. I want prose that is uplifting, inspiring, filled with good triumphing against evil, morals without “preachiness”. For what it’s worth, I’ve compiled this reading list for myself and I commend it for those who are similarly sick and tired of all the negativity, the constant whining and gnashing of teeth that is permeating virtually everything we hear and see today, not just on television, but on store notices, advertising, even invoices!

Advise and Consent (Allen Drury, 1959) – In the context of today’s politics, this timeless novel deals with the inner workings of Washington and particularly, the juxtaposition of political ambition against fundamental integrity.

Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998) – The techno thriller that displays the virtues of a G.I. Joe group of counter terrorist soldiers who go after cells worldwide.

Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy, 1986) – Another great Clancy novel for the guys that pits NATO against the WarsawPact.

The Time it Never Rained (Elmer Kelton, 1973) – A western novel with a lot of homepun wisdom.

Freddy and Fredericka (Mark Helprin, 2005) – A tongue in cheek about a prince and princess of Wales banished to the United States.

Shelley’s Heart (Charles McCarry, 1995) – A political thriller that exposes the corruption of Washington.

On the Road (Jack Kerouac, 1957) – The fictionalized story of Kerouac’s journey across America.

Caribbean (James Michener, 1989) – Since I can’t travel there this year, think I’ll tour the islands and their history by re-reading this one.

The Blackford Oakes Series (William F. Buckley, Jr. 1967-2005) Spy novels from the pre-eminent conservative intellectual.

And I’m still going to binge on videos. I’ve hauled out, for example, my collection of “24” and look forward to see Jack Bauer take on the terrorists and bad guys again.

ANYTHING, ANYTHING to keep away the horror show that’s unfolding in our major cities and even some secondary ones. And anything to drown out the constant Wuhan Gloom and Doom!

I’m At a Loss for Words

America, Economy, Education, Family, Morality, Politics, Religion, Society & Culture, Values

Dear Readers and Patrons of Grumps Report,

I truly am at a loss for words. The emotions coursing through me at this moment are so powerful that I expect anything I write might not reflect what I think and feel even a couple of weeks from now. I’ve run out of adjectives and adverbs to describe the emotions: sadness, fear, disgust, hopefulness, resolve, patience and impatience, anger, compassion, hate and love, just to name a few.

Physically, I’m fine. I had a routine medical procedure last week that required me to visit my doctor. I thus had a COVID test and am negative. I don’t know whether I’ve got antibodies. I’ve stopped watching and reading the news on this topic because my economist/banker/businessman’s critical thinking training has me so put off by the so-called experts, even many whom I’ve trusted and relied on in the past, that I’ve shut them all out.

Spiritually and emotionally I’m sickened by what I see happening to our country. Having grown up in the 60’s witnessing all the rebellion and profligacy of that decade, I never saw anything like the soul-crushing necrosis I’m seeing today. I’m of course referring to the rioting, looting and what’s almost worse, the cowardice, demagoguery and genuflection on the part of Leftist politicians to what truly is domestic terrorism. In the 60’s it was easy to write off the chaos and attribute it to fringe lunacy. The great majority of Americans, while silent, appreciated what we had and were mostly bystanders to what was generally accepted to be foolishness or youthful exuberance. The vast majority of us still cherished and appreciated all that was good about America.

Today we’re seeing the fruits of the dark underbelly of the 60’s, amplified and expanded thanks to the internet and decades of indoctrination by the same losers who lacked self-control and self-discipline then. They now populate academia, law, and above all, government. Even the military and law enforcement haven’t been spared. There are neurotic, unproductive or barely productive adult children in virtually all our institutions.

I’ve already said too much. I will now go back to my bucket-list pursuit of reading all the Great Books. In them I find refuge, wisdom and truth that transcends all the nonsense bombarding me from all directions every minute of every day (were I to allow it).

Keep your seat belts fastened and your seat backs and tray tables in their full upright position. It’s going to be a bumpy ride for some time to come.

But this too shall pass.

Intellectual Bankruptcy

America, Society & Culture, Values

So much to write about. COVID-19, Michael Flynn…now the riots around the country in the wake of the George Floyd killing. So many people smarter than I have said it better than I could regarding the last item. Think I’ll draw on and repeat things that have been said that I wish I could have said!

John Podhoretz, in an op-ed titled “Only an Intellectual Could ‘Justify’ These Riots” May 31st in the New York Post:

“George Orwell’s timeless admonition, ‘Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them,’ has been given new life by the desperate efforts of pundits, scholars and Twitter blue-checks to defend the violence, looting, disorder and general monstrousness that have overtaken America’s cities.”

The glorification of mob violence and petty criminality that was one of the disgraceful hallmarks of bien-pensant thinking throughout the 20th century resonates through every tweet, ­every deep TV observation and every piece of writing that casts the coast-to-coast destruction and anarchy in a positive light.”

Comparisons have been made between the violent rioters setting fire to police precincts and department stores over the last few days to the ‘hoodlums’ of the past. Podhoretz cites in his article the difference is:   “…our insurgents are fully aware there is a phalanx of media and academic apologists at the ready, who will not only excuse their behavior but laud it. This both provides them internal psychological cover for the unleashing of the evils inside them and a vocabulary to explain away the evils they release.”

“Making excuses for rampant violence has been a reflexive habit among the cognoscenti in the United States since the 1960s, from the Leonard Bernsteins hosting the Black Panthers at the elegant party ­immortalized by Tom Wolfe in his essay “Radical Chic” to the aftermath of the 1977 New York City blackout, when the looting of entire neighborhoods causing more than $1 billion in damage ($4.5 billion in today’s dollars) was justified in the op-ed columns of The New York Times as a consequence of (wait for it) a cutback in city-provided teenage summer employment.

Ideological partisans of all stripes face this temptation every day — the temptation to believe that those who seem to be making the same argument you make but then add violence to the mix only do so out of an excess of zeal. In other words, the violent people may be wrong in their tactics, but their passionate loathing of injustice simply got the best of their good intentions.

Perhaps they feel it necessary to do so because they don’t want the bad behavior to discredit their beliefs, or because they can’t bear to examine their ­beliefs in light of the violence and wonder if they are a part of what made the violence happen.

Or they double down and come to think that the violence is a mark of virtue — that the ­violent are even more committed than the cowardly couch potatoes who sit on the sidelines bemoaning injustice but refuse to put it all on the line. That was also the story with the cop-killing and bank-robbing terrorism by the Weathermen and others that erupted from the anti-Vietnam-War student protests.

The perpetrators were romanticized rather than vilified. That was half a century ago. And the spiritual virus that provided such rancid moral “immunity” has surged anew with a recurrence of the evil.”

Wish I could have put it like that. Thank you John.

The Death of Quality

America, Economy, Morality, Reason, Society & Culture, Values

I used to be able to pick up the phone sitting on my desk and 99.9% of the time I’d get a dial tone and be able to call out. Today about three quarters of the time I use my cell phone the call either gets dropped, I can hear him but he can’t hear me (I feel like the guy in the commercial, “Can you hear me now???”), or I get one bar or no bars from the start.

Technology has delivered many conveniences to be sure. But personal attention is certainly not one of them. And reliability (a.k.a. quality) has been a casualty as well. So help me, if I here the words, “It’s software, what do you expect?” one more time I’m liable to scream “arrrrrggggghhhh!” right in the face of whomever uses those words with me!

What happened to craftsmanship? What happened to companies who’d boast about the quality of their products and due to real competition, didn’t charge a highway robber’s take for it?

Technology is what happened. Benefits gave way to features. Reliability gave way to creature comforts. Stuff that would last forever gave way to planned obsolescence. In short, an honest profit gave way to greed and Good Housekeeping seals of approval gave way to “5 Star Comments” on Amazon, honest or not!

I have a personal example. About 30 years ago I bought a Black and Decker Workmate portable workbench. It folds up nicely, flexibly adjusts, and is made of solid steel and wood, the screw mechanism that adjusts the vice having many threads. It still serves me as well today as the day I bought it.

Wandering around Home Depot the other day, I saw my Workmate’s 2020 version. It was, to put it succinctly, a piece of, well you know what, compared to mine and cost in today’s dollars, roughly twice as much.

Another example. Over 40 (yes 40) years ago I bought a fun kid’s sled made by a Norwegian company called a Sno-kart for my own children. It was made of steel tubing and high density polyethylene plastic with strongly welded joints. My grandchildren still gleefully use it today.

I checked, and the company still exists but their sleds now are made of cheap plastic throughout. I can’t imagine they’d survive my grandson’s first run down the hill!

Another thing that technology has caused is a decline in honesty. Doctors will tell you, “Everybody lies about their health.” That may be true, but the phenomenon was, until the last twenty years or so ago, largely restricted to the medical field. Today, it seems everybody lies about everything! I don’t just mean blatant, with a straight face bald-faced lying. I also mean lying by omission, lying by “creative misrepresentation”, or “lying for the greater good.”

In other words, there has been a serious decline in the quality of truthfulness, of probity, of ethics, of morals…one could even say a decline in the quality of reality!

Quality being almost completely dead, a renaissance is needed.

I have re-committed myself to giving 100% to everything I do, of restoring quality to my everyday tasks and professional endeavors. I have also re-committed myself to be not just truthful and honest, but to being forthright as well.

The other side of this coin is that I will continue to throw the yellow or red BS flags on the field whenever I see they’re warranted. I will refuse to abide or tolerate dishonesty of all kinds in my interactions with vendors, agents, advisors and most definitely with politicians!

I sincerely hope and pray I’ll be successful and may be able to influence others to join in the fight to restore quality to everything we have and do.

Sheep(le), Wolves and Sheepdogs

America, Family, Society & Culture, Values

If you’re not familiar with the concept of the three types of people: sheep, wolves and sheep dogs, I strongly urge you to read about it in Lt. Col Dave Grossman’s book, “On Combat”. Sometimes it’s not easy to tell which category a person falls into until circumstances or events make it plainly obvious. One of the things the COVID-19 situation has done is make the distinctions more transparent.

Very briefly, and quoting from the book…

“If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath–a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.”

The vast majority of people are sheep. This isn’t a pejorative term, unless of course we’re referring to “sheeple”. Sheeple are docile, fearful, easily-led, easily-manipulated, often ego-centric, gullible and seek the approval of others, particularly “expert authorities” and some kind of outside validation for their actions.

The truly evil sociopaths are of course wolves, but we can characterize scammers, demagogues, fearmongers, ‘hypercrits’ (.sic), ‘patronizers’, ‘condescenders’, megalomaniacs, holier-than-thou types, petty bureaucrats and of course, the majority of politicians as wolves too!

FInally, there are among us, thankfully, sheepdogs: combat soldiers, intelligence operators, police, firemen, first responders, much of the medical community, community emergency response teams and myriad volunteers who seek to serve others.

Look around you these days and you’ll clearly see who’s who.

What does this mean for our new lives… our during and post-COVID lives?

If you are a sheep. I strongly urge you to seek out, get to know, listen to and if need be, follow one or more sheepdogs whom you can trust and try to help as they seek to protect and serve others.

If you are sheepdog, I strongly urge you to embrace your role and let people know you care about them, will try to look out for their well-being, will defend them (with violence if necessary!) against evil and will lead from the front, not from your behind (.sic).

A few years ago a regional newspaper run by wolves and staffed by sheeple, in a fit of anti-Second Amendment pique, published an online, interactive map of those of us with concealed carry gun permits. Their attempt was to ostracize and shame us. It backfired.

No less than three of my neighbors, after seeing that I (and no-one else within a radius of about five miles) had a carry permit, quietly told me something to the effect of, “If the s— hits the fan, I’m coming to YOUR house.” Besides offering to mentor them on firearms training and permit acquisition (usually met with a “noooo, I could never do that…”) I reassured them they could indeed rely on me to help them in a dire situation, and if necessary, I’d given them on-the-spot training!

If you are a Sheeple, you’re not reading this but if perchance you do I urge you to wake up, shut up, engage your brain and do something useful instead of whining, weeping, wailing and gnashing your teeth!

Finally, if you’re a wolf, you too are probably not reading this. But I would strongly urge all wolves to be mindful of the rapidly increasing number of sheepdogs who are coming out of their doghouses to confront the evil you represent. We’ve thrown the bulls— flag on the field and while we haven’t seen apocalyptic civil unrest at this time, we’re ready to confront you and will not hesitate to defend our families and our friends from everything from petty unrighteous dominion to violent threat.

This crisis has clearly brought out both the best and worst in people. I have no data to support this, but I would not be surprised if the number of sheepdogs reading these words is greater than for most blogs. Why? Because people who would actually take the time to read the reflections and musings of an old, traditional fart like me probably care deeply about their loved ones, their communities and our nation. I expect many of you are courageous in the face of hardship and would, like a sheepdog, step up when called upon (if you’re not already doing so) to defend the flock.

May God bless the Sheepdogs and the Sheep. May He help the Sheeple and may He render the Wolves impotent…

I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

Family, Values

In a recent post I noted some of the positive things that have or will emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic. One of the MOST positive is the impact that social distancing, closed schools and quarantining is having on COMMUNICATION among family and friends.

While I will admit that I texted my wife the other night while she was sitting in another room in the house instead of getting off my butt and going to speak to her directly, I partially justify this because it’s actually far more efficient.

Let me explain. Were I to wander into the room where she is to ask a question directly, one of two things would occur: either a) I will ask my question and no matter how clearly I do so, she will ask me to repeat it, or b) I will speak loud enough to get her attention so she will hear me the first time immediately to be told, “I’m right here, stop yelling at me!”

This is in GOOD times. Now that we are both stuck at home, essentially quarantined, and have had to figure out how to communicate with one another, we had to have a conversation about YELLING! She thinks raising my voice above normal conversation is yelling. I think anything less than speaking at a normal decibel level when the tv or microwave are on constitutes mumbling under one’s breath. She refuses to “yell” and we both get frustrated having to ask one another to constantly repeat ourselves. Texting, on the other hand, has that blissful silence about it while still getting the  question out and/or the response back! And ALL UPPER CASE is only ‘virtual yelling’, not ‘actual yelling’!

So one of our first conversations as we sat at dinner since being quarantined involved talking about talking. Yes, talking about talking. With no ambient noise except for the dog panting nearby we could actually hear one another, and despite having vastly different definitions of what constitutes communication, yelling, mumbling, etc., we, in fact, actually TALKED to one another! How cool was that?

We agreed to disagree, but when she did start “yelling” at me I COULD HEAR HER! Yay! Now, if she could just take that “I’ll speak up but I’m going to kill you” tone out of her voice, we may be able to avoid texting to one another while in the house altogether!

On a serious note, having families confined to quarters is forcing us to interact beyond email and texting. It’s forcing us to deal with one another in what are now unusual ways. Used to be we talked over dinner routinely, or had one-on-one time with our kids at some point before bedtime. Now we talk in both these cases, and even over breakfast…and sometimes even during the day. What a novel idea!

As for friends and family. We still use email, text and Facetime or something similar, but we do so deliberately: to check in, to coordinate plans, to engage in one-on-ones by phone because we’re really concerned about one another. We’ve always been concerned about one another…but now we mean it!

And that’s a good thing. We’ve relearned that what really matters are family, and friends, and neighbors. We’ve relearned that when we’re all in deep yogurt, we can and need to help one another out. In our community I’m partially surrounded by Leftists who in good times have warped values and moronic ideologies. But today, they’re just neighbors sheepishly venturing out on their front lawns to say hi from afar.

Let’s take this opportunity to get to know one another again. Let’s try to remember that we like one another even when communicating may require us to YELL! And, let’s hope that when this is all over we’ll not forget whom we got to know while we were fighting the virus war together!

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