Neutral Law Enforcement

During my thirties, my job took me to New York, just outside Syracuse. There’s a nice park there where I used to walk. It beat looking at the hotel room walls.

It was the right time of year and the evenings were almost always wonderful. There was a baseball diamond there and, of course, little leaguers playing baseball.

When I stopped and watched the game, they found out I was from Mississippi. They suddenly realized they found the perfect unbiased umpire. They immediately put me to work calling balls and strikes.

Apparently, they were impressed with my fairness, if not my accuracy. They kept calling me back and they never complained, not once. Now that, in itself, is something of which for me to brag.

The point is this, people love an honest neutral arbiter, whether it be an umpire, a judge in a courtroom, a prosecutor or even law enforcement officers. I guess that nowadays it’s too much for we Americans to expect. No more fair umpires in our government. No more fair observations from TV and radio reporters. There are no hopes of getting unbiased reporting from newspapers. Finally, and worst of all, the historians are twisting history. They say things happened I know didn’t happen. At my age, I actually remember stuff firsthand.

It makes me sad. However, I have hope. There is a righteous judge. All accounts will be settled. The most devious government officials will pay. I don’t need to do a thing. God’s judgment is true. God’s judgment is sure. No one will get away with anything. Those who don’t believe it are only deceiving themselves.

What amazes me is some actually think they know and understand it. Yet, definitely, they continue their march. I can’t think of anything more foolish.

All You Have to Do….

During a phone conversation, the young man was trying to sell me something. I don’t remember what it was. Maybe he was trying to get me to donate for something. It doesn’t really matter.

I do remember the last two things said. He said, “All you have to do is….”

I said, “I don’t have to do anything! ” I put the emphasis on the word have and hung up.

It seems to be, unfortunately a very overused very inaccurate phrase. When I was a private in the Marines, there were many things I had to do. When I was a child, there were many things I was required to do. Even today, as a citizen, as a driver, as a taxpayer there are things I must do. Last time I checked, as a potential customer, I don’t have to do anything other than pay for my purchases.

To be sure, there are things that are customary. There are things that are contingent. I mean, I do fill my own basket in a grocery store. Nowadays, I do my own scanning. Nowadays, I pump my own gas.

Before l can leave the store, I must make a valid payment. That is not just conventional but legal.

However, more and more these days I become angered when someone says all I need to do is….

It is wrong and it shows a wrong idea. As a customer, there are things reqired of me, to be sure. However, when this phrase is used, most of the time, it’s simply not true. It is very rare to be accurate by telemarketers and it is never appropriate for those representing charities.

Hence, unless a person wants to anger me, they should really avoid using the phrase, especially when not accurate. If on a phone the next sound they will likely hear is the click of a hangup. If in person, they will likely see me turn on my heel and leave. I’d suggest others do the same. Just maybe we customers might regain some of the control we deserve.

Just What We Will Know

Beware, artificial intelligence is coming.

In one of my books, a woman is doing battle with the authorities.  She is convinced of something the police tell her is impossible.  Actually, I guess it is not a new plot.  However, as artificial intelligence becomes more intelligent, it also becomes more and more plausible, possible and likely.

Today, there are computers that can imitate our voices to the point we cannot recognize them from our own.  Images, even videos can be done very convincingly, to the point we will doubt our own memories.  We will be convinced that we were in places we’ve never been.

One day, you may receive a phone call that you will be convinced came from your son or daughter that is completely generated from 1s and 0s.  It is a good reason to tell your child to remember a word or two that can be used that only the two of you know.  Hopefully, you’ll never need it, but you might.

The computers will be able to convince us that people have done things they didn’t, uttered things that were never said, signed things we never signed.  We are entering a brave new world in which we must doubt that which we hear or see.  Unless we can hear or see that person who physically stands in front of us, the image just might be a lie, a deception, or a sham.

Indeed, you just might be put in the place of the woman in my book where you will know something, and no one will believe you.

Naturally, those most susceptible will be those with deep pockets.  The purpose of the ruse will be to deceive the rich out of their riches.  However, it will not stop there.  It will be used to make politicians appear to say or do things they never said or did.  It will make people holding positions in solid companies appear to flip their lids.  It might even be used to convince folks they were in places they weren’t and all will believe because they will see the evidence on the video.

Of course, that can also work the other way.  A murderer can use it to establish an alibi.  A congressman can use it to pretend a visit he never makes.  A horrible event never occurred.

I guess, to some degree, we are already there.  I mean how many know of the burning and looting a short season ago.  How many remember 9/11.  Go ahead.  Ask someone who was behind the destruction of the trade towers and the death of about 5,000 people whose only guilt was that they went to work that day.  Already, the media has done what they can to rewrite that history.

Given a little artificial intelligence and they will be able to convince anyone that anyone did anything.

Fifty!

I am going to do something I rarely do. I’m going to get personal. Whenever possible, since we were married, I insisted that my wife scratch my back for a short time every day. It’s only fair considering what all I have put up with. (Read Newly Married post about burnt boiled eggs and grease fire.)

At any rate, come June 1, she will have been scratching my back for fifty years.

So. With your permission, I would like to publicly wish my better half an early happy anniversary. As a special treat for her, I’ll do my own backstretching on that day.

Thing is, I hope she will be scratching my back for a long time more. I really hate the idea of having to do it myself.

Ending With a Preposition

Under the rules of English, we are never to end a sentence with a preposition. Oddly, old though I am, I have been doing it all my life. Actually, most of us do. Many don’t know it…or care.

For those unaware, we should not say, “What did you do that for?” It’s more correct to say, “Why did you do that?”

Words such as to, with, for, on and the like are prepositions and, technically require objects, or a word immediately following it associated with it. For instance, in the previous sentence, I used it with with. (Careful how you read that)

Though I was taught in high school, I rarely paid it much attention. Near as I can tell, few ever noticed. Then I started writing, with a grammar checker. Seemed, every time I turned around, the grammar checker told me, “You can’t do that. It’s not proper. “

Many times, I welcome those suggestions. Other times I want to tell the smart Alecky thing to just stuff it.

I hate to admit it, but sometimes, I just can’t say what I want to say unless I end the sentence with to, with or one of those other little words. Well, I guess I could, but it would either be long or awkward.

I know there are those who adhere to this rule, but sometimes I think we need to take a vote. Time to eliminate it. At least they should make it a little optional.

For my aside, ever since I’ve been writing, it seems I’m getting more critical of others speech, which I really don’t much care for. (Please forgive the terminating for.) Nonetheless, there is one irritation I’ve developed that one irritant I believe to be valid. It seems folks do like to overuse “ing.” Why say hoping when you mean hope. Why say guessing when you mean guess. They truly do have separate meanings and I hear news reporters do it all the time. I’m not even sure it’s ever been addressed before. Ing is already a very common word ending. We just don’t need to add to them.

I’m guessing you can let me known what you all are thinking about it. I’ll be letting you.

Those Who Took The Oath

The investigation is done, it concludes that Trump did nothing wrong. That means those who took an oath to enforce the law, namely, the leaders in the FBI and other federal agencies were the ones who knowingly did great wrong.

It also verified that many of the dem congregational leadership intentionaly used their office to promote lies, of course, with the aid of the media and social media.

Now, now that it is all over, the only people that are suffering are those who did nothing wrong. Indeed, some have even spent time in prison wrongly. Certainly Joe and his friends had their part in it all.

They know that they have gotten away with it. However, be sure God will avenge.

The Irony of Gun Control

Every time there’s a shooting, the dems want to talk about gun control, because they have no desire to argue law enforcement and crime. They know that is an argument they will always lose.

The irony is that they refuse to enforce the gun laws we have now. Especially in NY, NY, a crime is committed with a gun and the criminal is arrested one day and released the next. Don’t think that is a debatable position to anyone but the libs.

Perhaps, maybe, possibly, we should not add more gun laws until the ones we have are enforced. The unenforced law only affects those who obey the law. There is no effect on criminal types.

I’ve Created a (small) Monster

It may seem a confused statement, but it’s undeniably true. I decided to get a string out and play with Cali, the calico cat. She certainly took it more seriously than did I. No doubt, she was enjoying it.

It appeared she’d not tire of it but I did. I sat the string down and and walked away. Now, she follows me around howling. I don’t understand her reasoning but, apparently she does not like it now that the string has died.

I don’t know. Maybe you have a better explanation. Actually, I have no explanation, just a guess.

Felines. Who can figure them. Almost as complicated as my new phone, which, from time to time, I can’t answer…especially frustrating when the call is from a grandchild…not so much for telemarketers.

Half a Billion Tons

That’s how much silt the great Mississippi River dumps into the Gulf of Mexico each year. I might add there are a few others that are similar. There are some that dump more, many less.

That is a bunch of bunch of dirt displacing millions of tons of ocean water.

Now, let’s see. Do you suppose that would cause the ocean levels to rise.

Simple solution. Dig some of the dirt back out or pump ocean waters into man-made salt lakes and add lake front property. Make channels for shipping. Add beautiful landscaping for big hotels.

Build a bid wide beautiful mote just north of the Mexican border to stop illegal migration. Well, that wouldn’t work well in the mountainous areas. It’s a thougt, anyway. It sure would be nice to cut down ont the drug traffic too.

ABOUT 40 YEARS TOO LATE!

Just heard on a CBS report that homosexuals will have restrictions on giving blood.

I suspect there are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of families that wish that happened, oh, in the 70s.

Maybe it’s about time to change some of the other politically correct rules and laws too. Just maybe it’s 40 years late for that too.

Then again, what do a few thousand lives mean? Truly what gain did they cause our society? On the other hand, what, who have we lost?

As I said before, dems have no respect for human lives. All they care about is taking control. Indeed, if it served their purpose, they would not hesitate in driving the figurative bus right over the homosexuals, or anyone else if it served their purposes. Indeed, even today, they are using Planned Parenthood to hold down Black population. (Look up origin of Family Planning)

AIDS and birth control and open borders, individually, have killed more than all gun killings, I suspect in the last 5 decades.