AMERICA the UNREASONABLE

UNREASONABLE

The Democrats and the political left are whining and complaining about the RACIST unfair Republicans and the political right.  It seems that the most unfair thing in the world is to require that a person wishing to participate in that most sacred of all American activities “voting” show some identification to prove that they are entitled to do so.  OMG, can you believe the insurmountable hurdle that has been placed in the way of the poor black and Hispanic community and others?

Of course if you want to board an airplane, or cash a check, or attend the Democratic National Convention, just to name a few activities, you need to show a government issued I.D.  All the other countries on the planet with whom we are constantly being compared because their health care system or educational system is better than ours, require a government issued I.D. to vote.  Canada, Mexico, and Germany come to mind. You can check it out.  Mexicans have to have I.D. to vote in Mexico where they are citizens but not in the U.S. where they could be illegal and no one can challenge their citizenship by requiring I.D.

One more reason why the U.S. is doomed to become one of those countries that used to rule the world.  Portugal, Spain, Italy (Rome), and England.  In our rush to be overly fair to folks that can get everywhere they want including driving without a license and insurance (in Florida, uninsured motorist auto insurance is a must for YOU to buy)  if necessary, we call it an unfair requirement that they have to leave their home to get an I.D. card to vote.  Anyone can get a free government I.D. in the same place as they would get a driver’s license. You don’t have to speak English you just have to bring in something to prove you are a citizen. The requirements are pretty slim. 

Of course, if you are the Democrat party and you depend on a huge turnout of voters who are not entitled to vote in order to win more elections, you would do whatever you could to prevent the I.D. requirement.   You will stoop as low as you can to accomplish this including playing the race card, the “Republicans hate the poor” card, and Granny, who was pushed over the cliff in the last election, won’t be able to get to the driver’s license office or her wheelchair won’t fit through the door, or something. Oh, puleeeze.  It’s not a poll tax, it’s a requirement you show you are a citizen.  They have to do it in our neighbor to the north and the other one to the south (that’s Canada and Mexico for those who went to high school in Detroit).  The current U. S.. administration can’t wait to have Canada’s health care and gun control, or to get a lecture from Mexico’s president about how to deal with our border, but when it comes to voting, we are the FAIR country.     

Are you a RHINO or a COW?

RHINO through life or just Moooo?

About 30 years and 2 million books ago, Scott Alexander, then 20 years old, wrote a book called Rhinoceros Success.  In this book he wrote that 95% of people are cows, willing to moo and complain and hang around all day chewing their cud, rationalizing why they are victims of this or that and doing nothing to change their lot in life.  About 5% of us are RHINOs, the powerful beasts of the jungle whose thick skin protects them as they charge straight ahead at their goals, unperturbed by the actions of others.

In America today, it has become a state policy to prevent people from becoming RHINOs.  It’s not “fair” that some people have more than others so let’s redistribute the wealth. (Except for politicians who leave office and get a million dollars to give one speech)  You should sacrifice your own welfare for the sake of the hive, like a social insect.  It’s easier to control cows than Rhinos. The entire system from the woefully underperforming school system controlled by self-serving teachers unions, to the bread and circus distraction offered to the people through mass media.  There is nothing on Dancing with the Stars, The Batchelor, or American Idol…on televised sports of any kind…or on social media that will advance your life.  It is all designed to keep you stupid and content as the economy falters, joblessness increases, and the moral fabric of America erodes. 

We accept this as NORMAL today:

A 50% graduation rate from high school in some big cities where money has been thrown at the problem for years by the truckload? 

A 73% illegitimacy rate. children born to unwed mothers, in one racial group?

More murders in Chicago than there are deaths in an all-out war in the Middle East?

Twelve million illegal immigrants living in America and nobody cares?

All your emails and phone calls are intercepted by the government?

50 million people on food stamps?

A congress that can’t figure out how to balance a budget and would rather address trivial issues affecting a tiny minority  than our entire economy that is killing our country?

The list is endless and we  accept it all as if it were inevitable.  As long as we have the same clowns leading our country it probably is. 

We have a President who had this “outstanding academic career” yet nobody who is paying attention can figure out how a mediocre student in an ordinary college managed to transfer to Columbia, then get into Harvard Law, then law review, and none of his classmates can be found to tell us what he was like in school? We still haven't seen any of his transcripts? Well, I guess we are in a country where education is so far into the crapper this is not important to most people, certainly not the Media who are only interested in selling papers, TV ad time, and their own prejudices. 

Anyway, you will have to continue to stand by and watch the RHINOs charge straight ahead while the COWs stand by, chew their cud (that’s a wad of grass for you graduates of American secondary education)  and watch 8 hours of TV every day numbing your minds from the miserable existence you accept.  It is a life brought to you by a government that promises you everything and delivers nothing other than distractions from what is important. It is not the rich man, or the white man, or the man at all that is at the root of failure for those who are not making it in America.  No country has more advantages than ours and fewer people availing themselves of them.  Food stamps and welfare and Aid to Dependent Children are not advantages, they are safety nets, to be used by those who are disabled, and those truly unable to get by, not millions of people who are COWs standing around complaining about how unfair life is when they did nothing and are still doing nothing to improve their lives. Get off your ass and do your part.  Mooooooo. 

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

I was typing something on my computer this morning and I used "their" instead of "his" and my word processor flagged it as worthy of grammar checking.  Over time we have been taught by the P C police that the pronoun "He" or possessive pronoun "His" is a sexist misogynistic term that excludes women.  One should never use the expression " Everyone must put on his own life vest." when addressing a mixed group of men and women, and presumably "other". Some bright bulb even came up with the term Wimyn, which eliminates the word "men" from within the female gender term.  My word processor knows it is wrong to use "their" but society imposes bad grammar on us to satisfy the femiNazis and gender-benders.

This week, The California Legislature passed a law, and Governor Moonbeam signed it, that allows children and young adults to decide which gender they want to be, and it can change from moment to moment.  They can enter into the restroom or locker room of their choice or participate on the sports team that is the team of the biologically other sex or gender.  Girls can be on the men's basketball team even if they have a team of their own, and vice versa. Biology, internal and external primary and secondary sexual characteristics mean nothing.  It is all about what you, at that instant feel you are... as in "I am feeling like a girl today, or a boy today," Sheep was not mentioned in the statute.
 
I am recommending a strategy for those parents on the Left Coast to resist this insanity.  Tell your sons to go into the girls locker rooms and showers and use them at a time when they are filled with females. Use the girls bathrooms and leave the seat up (it is not popular when I do this at home)  each and every time, or maybe just pee on the seat a little.  Lets see what happens to this attempt at eliminating gender as a differentiation in school facilities.

How paradoxical, in a world of increasing hyphenization and purposeful racial and ethnic division that a basic biological difference can be intentionally ignored in the interest of gay transexual and transgender choices. Changes that can be momentary, changeable, and obviously will cause the  elimination the laws against indecent exposure, at least in schools, from the California PENAL (no pun intended) code.  How could you have both a prohibition of exposing ones "Stuff" to a member of another biologically different gender when you are just as entitled to be naked in that shower as he, she or it is?   After Jerry Brown completes his term, maybe Anthony Wiener can move out there and run for Governor.  He would be right at home. Tweet me if you agree.

OFF ROAD VEHICLES

There is a hierarchy among off road style vehicles.  The really tough ones that go on safari or into the Outback, the Rubicon Trail, or in some mud bog are usually 4-wheel drive.  They use a system that you have to shift into in order for all your wheels to do their work of gaining traction against the earth beneath. Those same vehicles usually have solid axles like a full size pickup truck that make off-roading better but give you an uncomfortable ride on the highway.  Land Rovers and Jeep Wranglers fall into this category. They often have full frames that run the entire length of the vehicle.

When you say that your BMW or Mercedes is 4-wheel drive, and many of them are including their passenger cars, you really mean ALL-wheel-drive.  The system is on all the time to all four wheels to some degree determined by computer, according to which wheel needs traction. It is instantaneous.  They usually have independent suspension to all four wheels without an axle that runs from one side of the vehicle to another. They are often unibody construction without a full steel frame underneath.  SUVs and passenger cars like the German, Japanese, and Korean brands are usually All-wheel-drive (AWD).  They are considered inferior off road but offer a smoother bounce-free highway experience.

Most of us would prefer the latter because we seldom really go off road and our traction needs are related to snow (not a problem in Florida usually) wet weather, and accidentally getting off the pavement into the sandy or muddy shoulder of the road.  We spend most of our time on city streets and highways where "Going up the side of a mountain" traction is not a priority.   Yet, we see lots of Jeep Wranglers everywhere.  They are real off road vehicles, especially if additionally equipped with oversize tires and wheels with aggressive tread patterns. Predictably, they ride poorly on the highway even with their 4-wheel drive (4WD) systems disengaged.   On top of that, the short wheelbase ones with two doors can wander all over the highway at the expense of maneuverability in tight places.  When well equipped, JEEP applies a "TRAIL RATED" badge to the front fender.  It means that you can safely go out on the trail or back woods and will probably be able to get out of most low traction conditions.  Some folks say that it just entitles you to get stuck in more inaccessible places.

Even with all that, and owning a Mercedes GLK-350 SUV with All-wheel-drive, considered by the in-crowd of 4-wheel-drivers to be "MALL RATED" or instead of an off-roader, pejoratively referred to as a SOFT-roader, I still am lusting for a Wrangler.  Why?  They just look cool and remind me of my childhood and the TV show Rat Patrol. Practicality be damned.

The lesson here...in so many situations in life, we collect data, learn all there is to know about our options, and make choices from our hearts and souls that make no sense.  Think of other areas in life that we do this.  It is a common occurrence.

G R A T I T U D E

We had dinner with friends last night.  By common consent, before dinner, we attended a free (it was worth a lot more) lecture by a man named Jerry Posner, whom I had never heard of before.  His work is motivational speaking.  His twist, or schtick if you will, is simple... you don't have to go to a monastery in Tibet or spend a weekend with Wayne Dyer or learn everything there is to learn about Positive Psychology...just follow a few simple "suggestions."  Ask yourself: What is important? What is Meaningful? What is right for me? What do I want most?

The title of his talk was "Making Miracles Happen." or something like that.  He suggested that to do that (and the definition of miracle is different for everyone) there are a few steps...
Visualize the outcome and the path to it
Desire it
Anticipate it, expect it, believe in it
Ask for assistance, accept when offered
Put your "miracle" on your to-do list and review daily
Choose optimism and remember motivation
Give yourself permission
Make a plan and adjust as necessary

There were many other interesting and insightful things that he shared with our intimate group but one of the "take aways" (make sure you always have a couple of important points to take away from every meeting or why have a meeting at all) is WRITE A GRATITUDE JOURNAL.  What is that you ask?  It is a simple list, written anywhere, the "NOTES" app on an iPhone works great, listing 5 things or whatever number you feel comfortable with that you are grateful for today.  Research by real medical experts specifically in the field of Positive Psychology tells us that the simple act of WRITING this stuff down will make your life better.  Remembering the good things overshadows the insults, injuries, and perceived injustices that bombard us every day. There is no need for me to tell you the things I am grateful for (for which I am grateful, grammatically speaking) you have your own list.  Suffice it to say, I am writing my 5 things down every morning.  One thing for certain...my days are waaaaay better when I start with positive thoughts rather than the 50 ways that our government is screwing us, lying to us about Benghazi, or secretly recording all our conversations.  Give it a try.  As an iPhone user, for the first few days until I got into the habit, I set a calendar reminder for myself every morning. "Write gratitude journal" at 7 am.  

GREY LADY

Nantucket is known as the Grey Lady because it is so often cloaked in fog, and possibly because all the houses are the same color regardless of price, faded cedar..gray or grey (which is it anyway?)  Here is a view of the Old North Wharf and some cottages at the end that belong to some prominent residents and are in some cases for rent. On the day I took this photo, there was not a cloud in the sky.  The temperature was in the low 70s, Flowers were blooming.  Many of the days here are like this and even when they are overcast, and there is fog, it is a special place.  I love it most when everyone else has gone back to what is known on island as "America." It is earlier  in the season or later in the fall and jackets and sweaters are welcome additions to the wardrobe.  I get on my scooter, "Daisy" and ride everywhere seeing almost nobody else on the road.  I can go to Something Natural, my favorite sandwich place, and not have to wait a half hour to be rewarded with a culinary delight.  Restaurants, could exist in July and August with an unlisted phone number though they charge New York prices for ordinary fare, because they can, and really have to because the season is so short.  In late or early season, some cut their prices by half, and there are specials everywhere.

The natural beauty is still here in September and October but the young have returned to some level of school. Your chances of running into or being run into by a tourist on a bicycle wearing an iPod and earphones coming from a keg-stander at the beach, is far reduced.  People who are generally always nice, become nicer.  About 10,000 people live on island (you say "on island" not on THE island if you are in the know) all year 'round.  I am not one of them and the weather change drives me south like a Goose in the winter.  I guess I am a migratory Oracle, from this island to my winter home, another island in Florida.  It is probably a little early to think about fall, but on some days, especially on the weekends when the ferry disgorges a throng of day tourists with t-shirts from the last place they visited, I do get nostalgic for the quieter days.

WIDOW

Colonial Penn life insurance company advertises on TV.  In this ad, 4 women working at a cafeteria line are discussing the benefits of having bought the right life guaranteed life insurance on their husbands because they would have been up the proverbial creek without a paddle if they had not.  Please notice the conspicuous absence of men in this picture.  One is lead to conclude that women outlive men (100% in this picture) and it is important that men have life insurance to cover the additional years women have on Earth after their demise.  I really am at a loss for what to say about this.  Political correctness comes to mind.  Can you imagine the outcry of there were an advertisement in which a bunch of men were at a job site or worse yet at a ball game being grateful that they had bought insurance on their wives?  I did not think so.  So much for equality.