Monthly Archives: November 2024

First, Catch the Ball

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Okay. I wasn’t the best in the little league, though I thought I was better than the coach thought I was. One thing I will say, I never missed a ball during a game while I played first base. It was because of something my brother taught me. First, catch the ball.

That is to say, no matter what you plan to do after you catch it, make sure to catch it. It seems so obvious but I have seen even the pros start to throw someone out at first before he caught the ball. That is embarrassing. Even more, it can cost the game. Not only can’t you not make the play without the ball, but if that ball goes on out into the field, it can cost runs. Worse, it allows that other batter to come to the plate and hit the little pill over the fence.

To be sure, it takes determination. The instant that hard hit grounder starts in your direction, you must make the determination to catch, or at least stop that ball. No matter what else you did before or will do after, that is the number one concern.

Strange as it might seem, I saw first one football player, then the other a short time later drop an almost perfect pass. They had both their hands on the ball and it was very catchable. In both cases, they started making their plans for what they were going to do after getting the ball… then they dropped the ball.

Excuse me, but aren’t these guys getting at least 6 figures a year. Perhaps I have it wrong, but I would think the coach would really want a receiver who would first catch the ball. I mean I’m not one of those high paid coaches, but as I have said before, I am available. I mean, I do understand the basics, like catching the ball.

It is really nice to be the fastest on the field. However, it won’t do you a bit of good if you can’t put your hands around that ball and secure it firmly. Then you can run. Then you can go through all those elusive moves. But first catch it. As I said, I learned that in Little League. My guess is that most of the football players learned the importance of holding onto the ball in high school. I am sure it has been stressed repeatedly in college.

It is as that architectural engineer wrote, “The most important thing, is to keep the most important thing, the most important thing.”

It is important in baseball. It is important in football. Actually, it is the most important thing in just almost everything. This means, it is really difficult to keep a nation a representative republic when you can’t even keep the elections honest. I mean, it is sort of the most important thing.

The Lesson of Sixty

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We are told that we learn from experience. However, what is learned is not always right and proper.

During the election of 1960, it was pretty well an accepted fact that there was voter fraud in and around Chicago. Most will quickly admit that it costs Nixon Illinois and hence the election.

Some encouraged Nixon to contest the election but he decided not to because of what it would do to the country. And so it was that history was changed. Nixon would have backed the Bay of Pigs and Cuba would have become again free. Today, hardly anyone would have remembered Castro’s name. The missile crisis would have never been and Soviet Union might have fallen 10 years earlier.

As monumental as that all was, the biggest thing is that the dems learned a lesson, which they took to heart. Experience, taught the dems that cheating works and they have been using it ever since. Moreover, they have been getting more practiced at it.

A State of Confusion

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It reminds me of the old saying that my older brother used to love to repeat, “Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you to stand behind you to speak on something of which I know nothing about.” Okay. You can look it up on the internet, though my brother did not quote it right. It really is worth reading the whole thing if you have a minute or two. However, it’s not my point at this time. It is simply a way to introduce that which confuses me.

A number of decades ago, there was a nation, a horrible nation called Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). As I read the Bible, which I have read completely at least 7 times cover to cover, I did from time to time come across verses that confused me. They never caused me to doubt but they did cause me confusion.

Perhaps some of those passages is in Ezekiel. Well, at one one time, I was pretty sure of my understanding, you know the part about Gog and Magog. Between my own reading and some commentaries, I figured that it was referencing the USSR. The problem with that is that, now, the USSR no longer exists.

Ronald Reagan said that the nation would fall. In my mind, I said, “Right. Like that is going to happen. Communist nations never fall. Once the commies have their hold on any country, they won’t ever let go,” but they did. It seemed in a matter of weeks but it was more like months, the huge powerhouse crumbled before my eyes.

So. So much for my belief that the USSR is Gog and Magog. The thing is, Ezekiel is clear about it. Gog and Magog will come down from the north and attack Israel. It is also very clear that it will be a very powerful nation.

While Russia is still powerful, it is not what it used to be. However, to be sure, Russia is not much better than the USSR. More than that, Putin has voiced his desire to put the former empire back together. Worse, the dems don’t seem to want to get in his way. By driving the price of oil up to a hundred dollars a barrel, they have helped in the financing of it.

So, is Gog and Magog going to be the the reconstituted Soviet Union?

As I said in my opening statement, I don’t know. It sounds logical. Regardless. No matter what nation is being referred to, I would not want to be there when God decides to punish them. I won’t tell you what will happen to them. Just read it for yourself in Ezekiel 23.

I might be confused as to who Gog and Magog are. However, I have a pretty good idea of the punishment that awaits them and the reason.

Finally, for those who doubt the existence of God, study the history of Israel. A) The prophecies concerning the nation are coming true. B) Notice what happens to those nations that have treated Israel badly. Egypt, Babylonia, Rome and Germany. They aren’t but shells of what they were. I suspect it will not be long before Russia will receive their punishment as well regardless of if they are Gog and Magog or not.

For those who have a brain, take note. God can reduce the US to rubble. He just might decide to do it if we, too treat Israel badly. We have been forewarned. Even more, we have the examples.

Stupid Doesn’t Get It

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Border wall, Kamala by

Just how many times have you seen a baseball player do something and you ask, “Why did he do a stupid thing like that?”

I once heard a coach on TV say that when he looked for players, he said that we looked for speed. Hitting, catching, and throwing we can teach. Fast is not learned.” Before I heard him say that, I never understood why I never became a famous baseball player. Now I know.

Regardless of my shortcomings, over the years, I have leaned that another thing is needed to be a good baseball player, intelligence. Stupid doesn’t get it. When the player throws to first when he should have thrown to second, it is learned, but not totally. For sure, some players pick it up on the fly very well. Even so, occasionally, even the pros do things that are really stupid. After it’s all over, they will usually be the first to admit it.

The thing is, regardless of the talent, regardless of the speed, when a player continually does stupid things, the coach starts looking elsewhere. And here’s something else. The same thing is true of football, basketball, golf and tennis. Indeed, it is, to some degree true of most every sport.

You ever notice, quarterbacks have a tendency to be the most intelligent guys on the gridiron? I’m sure no one had to tell you. You likely figured it out by yourself. On the other hand, besides their speed and skill, the linebackers and and safeties are likely pretty smart too. Otherwise, they are likely to hear if from their coach on occasion, “Why did you do a stupid thing like that?” Actually, I suspect my remark cleans it up some.

Most sports have more than physical skills, but also strategies. Of course, from time to time, occasionally, someone slips up and they realize they have been out strategized. I know. I’ve been there. I have found myself wishing I didn’t do the stupid thing.

This is not restricted to sorts. Ask the lawyers. They’ll tell you. Most that have been at it a while have been taught a lesson or two in the courtroom. Ask the businessmen. They know it. Yup. They made a mistake or two. Ask the politicians. I have seen some of those first hand. I am sure that all of them wish they could have taken a step or two back. I’m sure you’ve seen it.

However, when a person takes the leadership of a nation in his hands, it gets serious. Old Joe opened the border. Now Kamala is stuck trying to explain it. Try is the operable word because she can’t. She won’t even try. She realizes any attempt will just make it worse. The fact is, it was one of Old Joe’s stupid things and she knows it.

Old Joe permitted, even took part in driving the prices of oil up. I don’t care what the reason. However, it allowed the Russians and the Iranians to gain great financial gains and power. It allowed them to finance the HAMAS which allowed them to attack Israel. That was stupid. It allowed Russia to attack Ukraine. I believe that most of the Israelis and Ukrainians will say that was a stupid move by Old Joe.

Now my question. After 4 years of stupid, do we really want another 4 years of it? As far as I am concerned, stupid doesn’t get it. I’m ready for someone to take over who actually knows what is going on. I mean, we’re not playing games here. We are talking thousands of lives already lost under Old Joe. It means more lives lost by Kamala, who said she’d not change a thing.

The Guarantee of Weakness

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I am not one in favor of war. If I had the power, if I had the say so, I would end all wars. However, the fact of the matter is, until Jesus comes again, wars will continue. The irony of it all, some wars have been fought to end war. The English and Americans fought both world wars in hopes of ending all war. It had become a saying to encourage the effort. It didn’t stop war. Within years there were wars in the Far East and in a while, the US was in the midst of another war, which we tried to avoid.

All recent wars, at least the ones I know of, have started with one thing in common. One nation had hopes of taking control of another. I would name them for you, but you know them all. The reason that they thought they could win the war, the one nation was weaker than the other. The truth, had the US not come to the aid of Korea, it would all be as North Korea is today. Had we not come to the aid of South Vietnam, it would have fallen to the communists much quicker. The tens of thousands that escaped would still be there.

If we go back to Germany, most of the countries it took over, they took without force or little of it. Many countries fell to the Soviet Union with little resistance. The Soviets were in the process of taking over Poland while they they had hopes of shaking the shekels of Germany.

There is a guarantee that if the US were to do away with our army, some other county would immediately begin the takeover. I suspect the attack would come from many directions, possibly even Mexico.

We, as a nation don’t like the idea of going to war. As a nation, we prefer peace. Unfortunately, it is a one sided decision. If one country tries to take us over, then we are at war, like it or not. It is either that or let that county overtake us.

In years past, such attacks were simple. When England took over Scotland, they sent their armies, and eventually they overtook them. When William the Conqueror attacked England, it was at a time when England was weak. The Channel didn’t provide the protection and the better part of England was conquered, rather quickly I might add. Even today, many of the words in the English language come from French, ironically, including Parliament from the French word parler (to speak)

However, when Germany took over Austria, they were taken over from within. On the other hand, in a few days, they used the Blitz to take over Poland. Poland didn’t stand a chance when they were still using cavalry. Poland didn’t want war. They had no plans of attacking Germany. However, they got no vote in the matter. When Germany decided to attack it was almost over before it began; and hence, we had the official beginning of The Second World War.

And guess what. The world had no choice in the matter. There was no vote taken. The decision was made by a little man with a mustache. One day, Britain was considering war against Germany. The next they were rescuing their troops with every small craft they could muster.

There is something of an exception to this pattern, sort of. In April of 1861, the South fired on Fort Sumter. Did the South think the North was weak. Hardly. Yet, the South came close to winning the war. Why? Because the North was ill prepared with poor generals. If a few of the battles had turned out differently, and they almost did, the North would have lost.

My own personal opinion, the North had the equipment and machinery. The South had the skill and determination. Just a few more resources, a few skirmishes go the other way, we would have two nations instead of one.

Determination is one of those things that simply cannot be measured. Look at the Revolutionary War. The Colonies knew it was a hopeless cause. Yet they were determined. To King George, it was little more than a bother in that place across the sea.

The truth is, not all wars start because of weakness. However, for sure weakness is a guarantee for war. Indeed, it is just almost an invitation. It is just almost irresistible for those who want to rule the world. And, there is always someone who wants to rule the world.

On the other hand, strength is always a deterrent. Consider the cold war. Was the term not MAD? Mutually Assured Destruction. It is our strength that kept the Soviets from launching their weapons. It is what kept them from attacking with their planes and ships. If we destroyed our weapons, hoping they would do the same, we would all be speaking Russian now.

In one sentence, we don’t really want to issue any invitations, to any kind of war, whether it be with weapons or in the world of Spy vs Spy. We must remain relentless because they are. If we drop our guard, they will take it as an invitation. And then, it will be an end to it all. There will be no Declaration of Independence or Constitution. We can cease to be as quickly as Austria to Hitler, or Hungary to the USSR.

Wendy’s Closing 140 Underperforming Stores

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I just heard it on the news. Then I did a little checking to verify it. The general reason they gave was the economy but that doesn’t match the term underperforming.

At any rate, I have written a number of times about stores around here that are underperforming, that is to say, they ignore the customers.

Oddly, they just opened a store not far from here a few months ago. It does make me wonder if we are going to lose any around here. Nonetheless, the employees just might take note. Their store might be next, especially if the employees continue to underperform.

As they say here in the south. Don’t surprise me none. The hitch is that a bad reputation is difficult to overcome.

How to Win a War

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As a former enlisted man in the marines, I find it difficult that I would need to remind the officers. Over and over again in boot camp, I was reminded of it and it is simple. As a marine, my job in a war, a battle, or even a skirmish is single fold – to remove the enemies desire to fight. When I have done that, I have won. When we as a fighting force have done that, we have won. When the enemy has removed our desire to fight, they have won.

More often than not, our more recent wars have been lost at home. The enemy has managed to remove the desire of those on the home front to win. It happened in Nam and it has happened in every war since.

Moreover, those who have made the major decisions lost track of how to win. The fact is, when the enemy is so badly beaten that he has lost the desire to fight, then we have won. And so it is after the war, even more than during the war.

Moreover, those wars, all of them should have cost the enemy so badly that he would never-ever want to take up arms against us again. Besides, when others see how we fight, they are less likely to attack us. As an example, we should have taken some of the oil fields of Iraq. We should have taken some of the oil fields of Iran. I don’t know what we could have done in Afghanistan, but given a little time, we could have thought of something. The point is, we never destroyed the desire of them to fight. I know that because they kept fighting. I know that because they are still fighting today.

Worse, others have seen how we fight. They have seen we don’t fight to win and they have seen we quickly lose our desire to fight.

Did They Really Mean it?

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Some have asked the question. However, I know they did. When they called us garbage they meant it. When they said that all the women around Trump are weak and not so bright, they meant it. When they called us deplorable, yep they meant it.

You might ask how I know. It’s easy. Each and every time, didn’t you hear them say, “Oops.” Yeah they did. I heard it. In each and every case, they rushed in unison to say that they didn’t mean it. That sounds like an oops to me.

Can’t Say No

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It seems that choice has been taken away. It has been replaced by the more polite or hopeful replies such as “Remind me later.” I would say I have no idea why, but the fact is, I am very much aware. The simple fact is, as with the old proverbial salesman who is trained to never accept no for an answer, the programming will not accept no for an answer.

Only in this case, we don’t have the option of closing the door. So it is, I can’t say no. However, unbeknownst to them, they irritate me. I just dig my heels in and keep replying remind me later, even though I really mean not while this world still spins.

In other words, I really don’t like it when they they don’t let me say no. I mean, it’s the principle of it. My computer, my decision.