EXPOSIMG EXREMIST LIES

I don't think that our global warming is particularly new, since the last Ice Age ended and warming started around 10,000 years ago. I am using England and Ireland as my example, since the Penguin Group published that history "from earliest times to the present day. This trend is still the same one that started 10,000 years ago. At some point, this will reverse itself. One of the more interesting aspect of rising water, it that the pressure of huge amounts of water can cause land to rise as well.

Putting this myth to death is simple. Blaming warming trends on earth's occupants is a political exercise for other purposes. For example, saving the spotted owl wasn't about saving owls, it was for the express purpose of ending logging as we know it. Using terms like "old growth" is a catchall for older trees invented in the newsrooms of those that knowingly publish rubbish for political ends.

This nonfiction history of the British Isles is giving me a great education. For those that would like the book, The Penguin Atlas of British and Irish history, published in 2001. It is a treasure trove of a record of our planet as it evolves.

Clean air, water and soil is of course important to all of us, since we share this planet too. Like any subject extremists will come out of the woodwork using "Chicken Little, " as their model. For many years this exaggeration has been the platform of choice. First scare people then blame the scare on those evil overlords that populate the right. The robber barons so glibly termed as those that rob from the poor and give to the rich. A reversal of the Robbin Hood syndrome.

Some of the extremism are opposing thinning of our public forests which then gives the remaining trees a chance of a long life. The correct non politicized terms are 1st growth (virgin forests) 2nd growth, 3rd growth and on up to the 5th or 6rg growth in present times.

Redistribution of wealth from intelligent hard workers has been around for ever. The myth/lie that all wealth was created by cheating those with less. That, my friends is known as extreme jealousy of those who are successful by those that live comfortably with the dream that does not include hard work, but just government doing their best to share those with wealth with those without. An unfortunate statistic this that there are many more without than with.

Not all forestry practices are bad, though clear cutting isn't so popular anymore.   Before you hug every tree, remember that managed well, it is a renewable resource that allows all of us to have wood in our homes.

Chicken Little is not science.

 

SEPTUAGENARIANISM LIFESTYLE

Septuagenarian ism suddenly hit me last week when I described how I arrived at a birthday, age 77. Portions of that post were described by Dave Oliveria in his Sunday column, parting shots. He said..."On turning 77 last week without a wife, curmudgeonly Herb Huseland of Bayview philosophized:"Having struck out several times, I finally decided that either I wasn't good at being a husband, or I wasn't good at picking the right woman"... 

After  reading this in the Spokesman-Review, I sat back in my recliner and mused: I may be the most eligible septuagenarian male bachelor in North Idaho. Look at all the marital experience I have and unlike most people who plod through life with only one wife, I have experienced a variety of personalities, sizes and appearances.

I visualized senior citizen speed dating. Inviting one and all old ladies to try out for the catch Herb team. Catching me is easier these days, since I'm not very fast anymore... At least fast of foot.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a friend, when the female bartender, all of 20 something walked by exclaiming "You think you know everything," and stomped into the kitchen. I was shocked and resentful that a twerp less than a third of my age would suggest a thing like that. I can only remember one other parallel occasion, and he too was ignorant. I don't believe I've ever heard an intelligent person making that remark.

Reflecting further in the days past I finally figured out the formula. As I grew in age and experience, I gained more knowledge on a plethora of subjects.  Now if I could just remember most of it.

Incidentally, for those ladies wishing an interview, I must point out that I have no money and I'm chubby. If you have got past that, have at it. In closing I am reminded of an old George Jones hit, "I don't need your rocking chair, no Hadacol or medicare... (if you remember what Hadacol was, put yourself in my age group) Try this for my future lifestyle (https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=jom1n67_QOY)

VA BUREAUCRACY

Bureaucrats, are quite predictable. Where you and I might think in terms of what works, they don't do that. Getting results ranks way behind practical solutions. They find ways to dodge the issue.

Such has been the case with the VA. I get all of my medical care through them which is appreciated. Also, at the treatment level, none can compare. But the leaders, those high on the wage scale, can't seem to find their butts with both hands.

Take the new mileage rule that straightens out the distance that a vet has to travel to a VA facility. If it is more than 40 miles the veteran can ask for, and receive treatment in their own community with prior approval.

There are examples. Yesterday I drove to Spokane because my podiatrist (foot doctor) is there. My treatments every 90 days consist of finding ways to live with toe nail fungus. This involves very careful trimming of the nails. When I did it myself I sometimes got part of the toe, after which  I let the  doctor do it.

All was fine until I got ready to leave at which point he said I can no longer treat you because I'm running 90 days between appointments, so the hierarchy has limited me to only serious cases. The moral here.s rather than increase staff, and they can't seem to do it, they decrease treatment. That is their answer to delayed service. Delete the care and the waiting list goes away.

Another example, I noticed signs all of the facility stating that the emergency room will now be called "Urgent Care," the hours from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. No ambulance patients will be accepted. So rather than hire more ET doctors, which are underpaid, they cut service. There seems to be a pattern here.

Then there was the ER doctor that was discovered as a Pedophile and recently stripped of his license. He hasn't been, or can't be replaced. Ergo, reduce the need for a new doctor. So now we do not have 24 hour emergency room service, which reduces the chance of an emergency patient dying while looking for a place to put him. Many of you will remember the elderly guy who when arriving at the VA, had to be removed by an ambulance and taken to another facility because the ER had closed at 5:00pm.

The bottom line here is the higher management after firing lower management for making patients wait to long, is reducing services so that they can't be blamed for long waits. Government workers appear to have a talent for violating the spirit, if not the actual rule. Anyone want to guess whether this reaches the news media or whether they will publish it?  Everyone hears of the revolutionary changes that have taken place since a new director was hired, but without follow up, it won't be found that the changes amount to a shell game.

With thousands of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan returning with physical and mental disabilities, the system is overloaded and will not be fixed with band aids. Instead of congress throwing money at the problem, perhaps they ought to find out where it is going and how it is being used. I would much rather have them pay for a couple of doctors, rather than have higher management scarfing up the money on (non) performance bonuses.

AGING

Aging is a mysterious trip. The first rule is you've never been there before, therefor the rest of the journey is a new experience. Monday, March 23 marks my 77th birthday. I still think like a 40 year old which sometimes causes problems.

Probably the only thing keeping me sane is that I don't have a wife that nags. Actually, I don't have a wife at all. Having struck out several times, I finally decided that either I wasn't god at being a husband, or I wasn't good at picking the right women. Either way, spells loser. I am successful at being an expert Curmudgeon, which I am proud of. That and the joy have having children and grandchildren finally within commuting range.

Here is the newest superstar grandchild. Patience Huseland who first  greeted us the first day of January 1913. She is now a precocious 2 year old with an either brother or sister is on the way. I attended a high school play recently that stared three of my older granddaughters of the same family. Alice, singer and actress, 16, Mercy,ballet dancer, and Irene, wild animal trainer. As soon as I get pictures from my son I will exhibit them in a future post.

The mysterious part of attaining this age, is that like said above, I haven't been here before. I'm not as active as I used to be, but in my mind, I feel the same as always with perhaps more knowledge. Unfortunately, as in a computer hard drive, capacity is a problem. Memories are are an adventure as stuff I know can't be pulled up from my human computer.

As is, I will treat myself to Dinner, drinks and try to stay reasonably sober. I have to wake up Tuesday with a reasonable chance at showing up at the Spokane VA for two appointments. Speaking of the VA, the constant criticisms it has endured, the influx of new patients from 15 years of war and occupation, they are doing well at adjusting to a heavier workload compounded by a stingy congress that can't seem to recognize that funding these programs is a sacred promise given to our service people when they enlist. After the VA I will attend my one day late birthday party

My personal health provider, after some not so good previous ones is excellent. At the risk of overloading him, Mike McIssac of the Sandpoint office of the VA is the best. He has been working at keeping me healthy for about 5 years and as of today, well I woke up alive again this morning. I now have a reasonable chance at hitting 80 which is now only three years away.

Several problems with attaining this age though, is I have to eat my own cooking all the time, go years without a sex life and generally more opinionated which may have something to do with the previously mentioned problems.

Still, all in all, having a 77th birthday is so much better than dieing younger. 

RACISM

A lesson was learned the hard way in Ferguson, Missouri and around the nation as we suddenly realized that yes, racism is rampant but that a majority is from the Black community, jumping in with the race card anytime a dispute or even a disagreement occurs.

To no body's surprise, former president Carter unctuously announced that anyone opposed to president Obama is a racist. Here we have rather than a person of color making the charge, but a white apologist. Carter should keep his mouth firmly shut.  First he allows no political difference that isn't racist is on the face of it, absurd. Secondly, he should be grateful that after Obama's term is over, he will replace Carter as the worst president in history. For that reason he should be revered by Carter. Now that I think about it,  perhaps that is why he is cheer leading.

Recently there have been numerous examples of not only reverse racism, but inciting to riot as well. Think the name, "Sharpton."

Maybe the saddest thing about the white race defending itself is the African-American community plays the race card with impunity so that most respectable Caucasians are afraid to even have a conversation regarding the issue. I, at 77 tears old don't give a rat's ass if someone throws the race card at me. For one, those that know me know better. And secondly, at my age I do not fear idiots opinions that are knee jerks from our more radical citizens. I have long held the opinion that those that call others names or become critics feeling the need to not only voice their opinion but to also denigrate that of others as well.

Let me give some obvious examples of flagrant racism from the black community. In the U.S Congress, there exists a black caucus. Now I ask you, what would the reaction be if someone started up a white caucus? Racist, right? It would certainly be all of that, but then so is the flagrant black caucus. Apparently, integrating schools wasn't enough, so the congress, acting in defense, invented mandatory quotas in our colleges and universities. Again, not equality but superiority.

There is an organization called the NAACP, a group that has morphed into a professional money machine. Self appointed ministers making inflammatory speeches, as the chief rabble rousers such as Sharpton and others of his ilk.
 
It was just a day after an acquaintance insisted that Brown was hot in the back while trying to get away. In an unusual act our U.S. Attorney General came out saying the officer did nothing that would be outside his training and that no bullets were found to be in the victim's back. In short, all around the country, people including  professional athletes were holding up their hands, chanting "hands up, don't shoot." I wonder how many of these people feel ashamed that they prejudged the situation. I suspect not very many.

Racism is not exclusive to the white population, but even more rampant in the black community. Where is justice served here other than to foster a race war. Somebody needed to fight back, so I stepped up.

ARMAGEDDON?

Armageddon without biblical references appears closer today than anytime in my lifetime including World War Two. The difference? The Hydrogen bomb. The attack on Japan that ended the war was caused by the United States beating both Japan and Germany to development and manufacture and delivery of Nuclear bombs.

Since then many countries including ourselves, England, France, China, Russia and Israel have nuclear weapons. The defining difference between these countries and Iran is that they are civilized and understand that to use them is to destroy civilization as we know it.

The joker in the deck is that Iran is ruled by radical Islamic Imams that would consider destroying Israel and the other western countries including us as blessings to Allah. The plethora of suicide bombers tells us that to win they are not afraid to die in the process.

Let's review the world conflicts. Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, Russia and Ukraine. Oh, I forgot the peaceful people of North Korea, who not only possess the bomb, but the rocketry to deliver it. There is very little to stop the NK's from exporting these weapons to crazies, which number themselves in the category.

Now we learn that our government, a day late and a dollar short has sent troops into Ukraine to train the indigenous army how to use something other than an AK-47. 300 strong, these  troops are combat Green Berets, boots on the ground in the line of fire. Had we done this a year ago, it would have resonated as the west backing a nation of free people. Now with firm control of much of the eastern portion of Ukraine will push back, causing our soldiers to confront Russia, or retreat from them for the first time since the European war ended with many of our troops captured and never returned to our side including pilots that while supporting naval convoys to Russia, landed in  Russia safely, were never returned either.

We today have wars being fought in more of this world than ever before. With the constant threat of China and Russia we also have a very real threat from Islam. That total war will breakout in the middle east is a given. With Obama fiddling as the Roman Emperor did while Rome burned is an exact parallel to what our country is ignoring to our peril. Once war tips over, there is not any path back to   sanity other than total victory, if after total nuclear war there will be one.

As Obama recreates the plan of Nevil Chamberlain, reducing out army and navy to prior to WW11 levels leaves us short of trained personnel when we are going to need them. I don't even want to speculate as to the job the successor will inherit, and two years from now may be too late for all of us. Never in the history of our country have we faced an administration that is like lemmings, headed for the cliff and taking us with him.

I no longer hesitate to suggest that Obama's Islamic relatives have caused him to promote their causes rather than ours. I believe it to be true.

Tonight, I watched and listen to CNN doing a special on Flight 370 and ignoring our deployment into Ukraine. I switched to Fox and they sere hammering on Hilary and the reverse racism that is apparent today but that is a subject for my next post.

One of the most serious problems that we face is the continual use of Army and Marines to the point where many if not most are mentally disabled. We are in a world of hurt and I see no easy way out other than strategic bombing, which as I mentioned would end civilization. Since we no longer have the training of the cave people, most would die without being able to find food in the supermarket.

WHERE IS HEAVEN LOCATED?

In my soon to be 77th year, I still am bugged by the passing references to Heaven without any attempt to defining it's location. Not once. Now I am sure that some of the glossed over explanations can be covered by invoking faith, a physical location cannot.

First, let me begin with references to Jesus rising or lowering bodily into Heaven. Now I don't havea problem with that incomplete statement or rhe 2000 plus years without having every addressed the question, "Where is Heaven.

Is it ghostly apparitions floating about in outer space? Perhaps in another galaxy. So after rejecting both another planet and the coldness of outer space, I have a theory that I would very much like your comments on. First I reject the ethereal location as outer space. If another planet, why not this one?

My theory is that if Heaven is a positive aspiration of the faithful, the setting surely has to be more delightful  than the above theories and evern more a mystery that the evangelic masses never question that while they don't know where, they have faith that it is a better place than today's Earth.

I think there is another possibility. Right here on Earth in another dimension.  A parallel civilization where God governs with help from Jesus and of course the faithful. A Heaven such as this if possible would solve the whole thing. You never leave, just jump into another dimension. There would be no necessity of finding 72 virgins for each Islamic terrorist that dies from battle isn't valid and isn't necessary for us Christians, which without bodies would be a waste anyway.

While some may question my logic, please offer a well thought out  alternative.

ON another subject, my well know disgust with the misuse of the word on prefacing a day of the week or a date in the future, such as The Mariners will play their first game of the season on Friday. In today's paper there was such a reference that showed how ridiculous the use of on is. It said the game with be played on today. I rest my case.

Perhaps I will come as close to figuring out where heaven is and just settle for the start of baseball season 2015.