Category Archives: Uncategorized

It Seems Every Other Year

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I don’t know. Maybe my memory is just playing tricks with me. It just seems every other year Huston is being hit by bad weather. If it’s not a hurricane it’s something else. And then, of course, every time they get hit, Uncle Sam Reaches deep in his pocket to help them climb out of another disaster.

The area is subject to bad weather and it appears they do so little to plan for it. I’m no engineer, but I have noted that other places have done things to prevent so much damage. I mean people who live along rivers will generally build levees long enough to go around Houston two or three times. On the other hand, every time Houston gets hit by another storm, I see no evidence of anything they did since the last one to prevent flooding.

Has anyone checked into the possibility of building some kind of barrier even if it is nothing but dirt. My own personal opinion, those people in New Orleans aren’t too bright building part of their city below sea level, but they do make some success in holding back the tides in between floods.

This last storm that hit Houston was just a cat 1. I can’t imagine what might have happened if a cat 3 hit them. To be sure, nature does throw the unexpected storms at us. We, here in Desoto County have had our share and we even had our share of flooding. However, in between storms, we rebuild stronger and better. Each time, we do something so as we can manage the flood waters better.

One year, we were kind of pinned in to our home by a flood. That was a long time ago, maybe 40 years. Since then, the engineers have been busy. That year, the flooding came up to the end of our street. Since then, the water hasn’t gotten close. I would guess the engineers around here know what they are doing. More important, they are busy working on it. I see no evidence of anyone doing anything in Houston. It seems, each time the storms do more damage than the time before.

Can the weather still hit us. Sure. We can get hit by tornadoes. We have had a few close ones. Not much we can do about them. But if we could we would. It would seem, every time Houston gets hit, they just say, oh well. We Texans can handle it, while all the time they have a hand out to Uncle to help pay for the repairs.

Of course, I am sure there are those that ask, what can we do? I ask, what have you tried to do?

I am quick to note, Houston is not the only area always looking for rest of us to pay for their poor choice of a place to live. NY, NY has been hit by a few storms and I have been asking them why they do noting to prepare. Considering the high percentage of dems in the city, I would thing they would be doing something to brace themselves against the rising seas. As near as I can tell, they have done nothing since their last storm. It does make me wonder, how high do the oceans have to rise before there ocean water running down the the streets knee deep and into the subways. Has anyone even asked the question?

Who is the Dictator?

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The dems and especially Old Joe keep trying to say that Trump is wanting to set up a dictatorship.

Let’s have a look at the history. Trump during all the time as president worked hard to decentralize power, from the feds to the states, not something a dictator would normally do.

On the other hand, Old Joe has done all he can to centralize power to the feds and, incidentally, the dems. It’s just the sort of thing dictators do. It is exactly what Stalin and Lenin did. It is exactly what Mao did.

Let’s look at it logically. It is difficult to assume a thrown when the leader keeps decentralizing authority.

You see the strangest things on Memphis streets, literally.

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I guess it was 10 or 12 years ago. I can’t say for sure. I usually took Jackson to I-55 on the way home from work a little after midnight. Sometimes I took Union Ave and I did try other ways. This particular night, well I guess it was about two in the morning, I took Jackson and I was almost to I-55. For those unaware, this is not the greatest neighborhood in Memphis and, of course it was late or early, as you chose to call it.

My headlights picked up something and I couldn’t make it out. I slowed as I approached. My first thought was that it was a blanket. But no. It wasn’t a blanket. It was person, a woman, lying in the middle of the right lane. I know it is a strange place for a siesta.

I couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead. I pulled up short and looked around. I was wondering if someone was waiting for me to stop so they could jump me. I turned on the flashers and pulled out my cell phone. Who was that guy that invented cell phones. I don’t know, but I sure am glad he did.

I called 9-1-1 and explained the situation. I answered a couple of questions. I also said that I probably should stay there as someone might not see her and run over her.

After hanging up, the woman started moving around and she seemed under the influence of something. Well, that was kind of something obvious. I mean she was in the middle of the right lane of the street, just lying there. At first she didn’t even move when I first moved up there but after talking to the police she started moving and finally stood.

When she saw me there, she decided to go around to the passenger door and tried to open it. A few seconds later the officer arrived and he took over after he checked with me. He had the same guess as me… that she was likely very drunk, but it could have been some other drug too. It could have also been her sugar was low or high or something like that.

At any rate, I was glad to hand the problem over to the officer. I waved to him and wished him well.

Well, it’s usually the Memphis drivers you need to watch out for. In this case, It was the sleeper I had to watch for. With the lighting as it was there, with just a very short distraction, that woman could have died that night. For that matter, if I just went around her, someone else could have hit her.

However, I had long learned to stay on alert while going through there. They have a habit of crossing the road there without much notice. I was always afraid some kid would run out in front of me.

I often wonder what happened to the woman, or what her problem was. Even if it was alcohol, I had the suspicion it was something else too. I don’t guess I’ll ever know.

Don’t Point

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I can remember, believe it or not, when I was 4, being told, “Don’t point. It’s not polite.”

Really, I am not writing this to brag about my memory. The thing is I was not much older when I was taught not to point a gun.

I have written before about gun safety and pointing guns. I should not have to repeat it. I should not have to say anything about it at all. Once a month, it should be repeated on TV. It cannot be repeated too much.

My three safety rules on guns:

  1. Assume all guns are loaded until proven otherwise
  2. Assume all guns are loaded, period.
  3. Do not point a gun at anyone you do not intend to shoot.

Since I posted those three rules last, I’ve added two more. First, make sure there is no one behind anyone you are aiming at. You might miss and hit the one beyond your target. Moreover, the bullet can go through you target and hit the one behind. Actually, it is something of an extension of rule 3. Finally, don’t shoot unless you are in danger. Do not shoot to protect someone else unless you are ready to go to prison for it. I guess it is sort of that way if you are in danger. You might still end up in jail but, at least you’ll still be alive.

It is a fact, if you shoot someone or if you shoot at someone and you can’t come up with a good reason, there is a good probability that you will go to jail.

As a side note: even if you are completely justified, it is something that will stay with you the rest of your life.

You might wonder why I brought up the subject. That actor is again saying it was an accident. He is pleading not-guilty because he didn’t pull the trigger. It doesn’t matter. He pointed the gun at the woman. Moreover, though he was told the gun was safe, he never checked it. (Rule 1)

I believe he should be convicted and go to prison. He’ll be lucky it will be just 18 months. Fact is, even if the gun never went off, he should still get a good hand slap for pointing the gun at the woman.

I did find it interesting that the defense attorney said that he was handed a prop gun. If I were the persecuting attorney, if appropriate, I would have objected. The gun he was handed was not a prop. it was a real gun with at least one real live bullet in it. The fact that it was used as a prop did not change that.

A Mere 73 Cents

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Some might not believe it, but I remember putting 4 cent stamps on letters. I just found out that they are raising the price of a stamp a nickle. That is a penny more than my stamps when I was but a boy.

Now, after all this time, the stamp will be a mere 73 cents, almost three quarters. I’m not even going to try to figure the yearly percentage but I figure it is quite a bit. It does make me wonder if I should forget the whole stock market thing and invest in stamps. I wonder if that’s legal.

Now let’s see. For 100 stamps, that’s 73 dollars, right? Maybe. As I get older, I have more problems wtih math, especially the basic kind.

We aren’t all sixth-graders

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Honest, I don’t remember exactly when it was, but it seems it was before I went into the Marines that I heard on the TV that commercials are designed for six-graders. Most people don’t like more complex things explained to them. So, if you hope to sell your product, you make sure the commercials are simple and don’t require a PhD to understand, even if your target sales is for PhDs.

I guess, in a way, we as commercial watchers are lazy. We really don’t want our minds taxed after working hard all day. On the other hand, maybe the PhDs are too smart too buy products they don’t need, especially the overpriced ones.

I suppose it does have one other side effect. It might actually make it so the commercials aren’t as expensive. After all, isn’t it all about that important bottom line?

I have taken writing tests before. I don’t know if they still have them, but according to the tests, I write at about sixth grade level. Now isn’t that convenient. My readers do not need to strain their brains in order to understand what I have to say. I guess I could say that it is convenient to be less intelligent.

Thing is, (Shouldn’t use those words so much. I’ve been trying to break myself of that.) I was considering what I heard way back then and associated it with something I heard yesterday. If it works better to write commercials for 6th graders, maybe it is good to write political ads for 6th graders.

I got to thinking, is this a good thing. Do we really want the politicians to talk to us as if we are all sixth graders? Yet it would appear It’s common practice. Reagan was known as the great communicator. Maybe it was because his ads didn’t require so much thought. As the guy said, “Keep it simple stupid.”

Just so there are no misunderstandings. it’s not my words. I did not mean to imply that my readers are stupid. However, the saying has been altered to a short abbreviation, KISS.

It is something of a disadvantage for Republicans. The dems make a simple statement that sounds good and it takes hours for us Republicans to explain why the statement isn’t true. For instance, the dems say how nice it is to tax the rich and provide for the poor. Sounds good. Doesn’t work. Never did. And yet we spend hours and hours explaining why and the general public still can’t understand it.

The same thing can be said of many things the dems try to tell us is good, open borders, weak military, and de-funding the police. (Hint: Since de-funding police, crime has sky rocketed. Since the border was opened, fentanyl has gone from about 50 thousand deaths a year to about 150 thousand a year. Tell me how that worked out, but it sounded good didn’t it. In a way, that is perhaps one of the most expensive decisions Old Joe made. It cost us more lives than Vietnam, both sides. It is why I don’t call him president. He will answer to God for all those deaths.)

It is why I don’t like what the dems are doing. It is especially why I don’t like the methods and the means of Old Joe.

At one time, Democrats and Republicans tried to maintained a closed border, a strong defense and strong law enforcement. Since Obama, not so much. Since Old Joe, even worse.

Then again, if they can successfully treat their followers as 6th graders, what can we expect.

Would They Help? Would They Try

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These days I wonder if NATO is not much more than an idealistic thought. As the title of the post suggests, If China were to attack the US, would the rest of NATO come to our aid? As I considered it, I wonder if it would do any good if they even tried.

If the US and Russia climb in the ring and started exchanging blows, what do you suppose the rest of the world would do? Do you think the UN would do much more than sit on their hands? Could they actually reason with Putin? For that matter, would they try to convince him that it’s the wrong thing to do?

It is a scary thought. However, I do believe we need to consider it. It very likely would not happen. However, if it did happen, it would be a little late to consider then.

Baseball

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In my youth, I was always in search of others to play the game. Then too, I played organized ball until I was 12. Since then, I occasionally played. Twice, softball in a church league. Nowadays, I would have trouble chasing a fly ball, though I might still be able to swing a bat.

After a few years in the Marines, I took up ping pong and I got good at it. I still think I can give many a run for their money. Just is, I can’t find a place or many opponents. The problem is that it is a difficult game to play outdoors, unless it is a very calm day.

Daily writing prompt
What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?
View all responses

I Don’t Write for Profit

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I’m not a the common blogger. I say things I think need to be said. I do not write to gain money. On the contrary, it costs me over a hundred a year. I don’t seek any money from my readers. If someone did want to send me money, I don’t know as they can.

As I said before, I do welcome tasteful comments.

However, I do not pay for this sight so that others can financially gain from it. When I see comments that are, in effect ads, I will not allow them. You want to advertise, have it, but get your own site. Not only will I disallow them, but I will remove them as soon as I see them.

Oddly, I have noticed a few of them. As far as I know, no one saw them but me. They displayed to me as possible spam. When I saw them, I deleted them.

I find it distasteful and a breach of etiquette to use my site for your profit.

Can We Survive the McClellan Effect

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Others may have used the term, but as far as I know, I am the first to coin the term McClellan effect. Just what is the effect and why is it? When the south took up arms and attacked the north in their effort to begin their own nation, General George B. McClellan managed to somewhat fight back the attack. However, he did not take advantage of situation. Eventually, Abe Lincoln fired him. That is history. Most fifth or sixth graders in a good school system knows this.

For this reason, I feel he is best suited to name the effect after. McClellan was considered a good leader by many, until he had to lead. Some folks claim that the civil war would not have lasted as long and the loss of life would not have been so great if Lincoln dismissed him earlier. It turned out, McClellan was more politician than soldier. He preferred his recognition to doing his job. He totally enjoyed moving in the political people in Washington but he knew not how to fight a war.

He was a good peacetime general, but when the cannon fire started, his lack of skill could be easily seen by, well by a sixth grader.

I have no idea why it is, but during peace time, we turn the military over to the McClellans. It is why I call it the McClellan effect. Even during the short WW I, the leadership changed drastically. Eisenhower started WW II as a colonel. He climbed the rung pretty fast, to the point of heading all allied forces in Europe. How many generals of the McClellan type did he pass on the way up. Most likely as he passed them, they asked what that was that passed so fast.

Not all of the good generals made it to the top. They made a movie about him. If you get the chance, you need to see it, “The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.” They tossed him out of the Army for having the nerve to suggest that planes can destroy even the biggest battleship. That angered a bunch of Navy admirals, even though everything he said was totally right. I don’t know how many of those admirals were honored but the B-25 was named in honor of Gen. Mitchell, the plane used by Doolittle in the raid over Tokyo.

Billy Mitchell was one of those generals who could not survive the politics of peacetime while the admirals did. I wonder just how many men died because of that.

Now, we are in a quasi peace time. It is an environment in which only the political generals survive. it makes me wonder just how many Billy Mitchells we have lost. If I were appointed sec. of Defense, the first thing I would do would be to fire all four and three star generals. From where I sit, none of them are any better leaders than I was. They do know how to say, “Yes sir,” to Old Joe though. And now our armed forces are degrading to far worse than when Reagan became president. Then again, I guess they can’t be totally guilty when you consider what they have for a commander in general.

The problem is, should we ever suffer another Pearl Harbor, would we be able to overcome the McClellan effect long enough to get the good generals in a place where they will do us any good. We might not have months. We might not have days. We might not even have hours.