Food Deserts

I don’t know about where you live, but on the local news here, recently the news is carrying stories about “food deserts.” These are areas in Memphis where there is no food. No supermarkets exists in the desert. Those that want to shop for food must either go to a convenience store or go some distance to another part of the city.

I hope you won’t mind my borrowing a liberal term, but I suspect it is evolution. I suspect that the deserts just might be or have been high crime areas. Indeed, the areas without grocery stores are likely business deserts as well. I mean who wants to open a business in an unsafe area? It is not profitable. It is dangerous for employees, customers and vendors.

It does make me wander why they can find convenience stores. Well, they do charge more and they generally have less cash. Nonetheless, if they keep letting the criminals have their way, if they don’t start putting them behind those big walls, the convenience stores too, will disappear. They’ll fade away with all the past neighborhood markets

Evolution is not just survival of the fittest. Smartness, common sense and fiscal matters all figure into it too. It is likely why many come south of the stateline to do business, to eat, to go to school, and, in some cases, live. Northwest Mississippi is the fastest growing part of the state. My guess is that most of the new residents are from Memphis.

Just a shame that we have no way of filtering them. We have to let the libs settle here too. Notice I didn’t say dumb libs. That would be redundant. Hopefully, after a year or two, they will get smart. I mean, when we catch a criminal here, he goes to the hoosegow. Incidentally, no one here is calling for defunding of the police.

Some may find this strange but neither do we have food deserts. Oddly, you check the parking lots of the stores just south of the stateline, you will find many Shelby County car tags. Don’t mind that much. They are helping us pay for our law enforcement. They are helping us pay for our streets. Mostly, they are driving the value of my house up. Once or twice a week, I have an offer.

My guess is, not so many moving north. There won’t be until those “woke” people up there put the bad guys in jail and make it safe. Nothing brilliant about it. No need for a college degree. They have been doing it for centuries. Some are just stubborn. They insist on using the new unproven.

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.

Hasn’t Anyone Noticed?

Someone, anyone becomes a key person in the conservative world and, suddenly, all sorts of people, women come out of the woodwork claiming sexual abuse and rape.

It wasn’t until Trump became president that he was accused, what by three or four women. I guess there would have been more if they could have found a few more to lie for them.

It wasn’t until Bill Cosby started telling Black men to be responsible and stop abandoning their families that he was accused. I’m not trying to say that what he did was right. It just is the accusations certainly were not immediate, were they? Just maybe the accusers were financially encouraged?

The most ridiculous one was the Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh. I mean the woman did not remember when or where. However, the dems insisted that everyone believe the woman’s story from his youth. Really. How many could ever come up with an alibi for something 10 years ago, let alone the time in this case. It’s why some crimes have time limits (statute of limitations) on them. Sometimes things can’t be remembered. Sometimes, witness are no longer living.

Let’s, please not forget Justice Clarence Thomas. According to the dems, he was guilty before they could figure anything he might be guilty of. He had a big target painted on him the instant he might be selected. I remember. I was one of those who watched the proceedings back then.

Incidentally, does anyone remember the admitted lies told by Obama about healthcare? I do. I remind others every time I get a chance. The dems would like us to forget his intentional dishonesty. (That is to say he lied to deceive.) Not illegal as it was not under oath. He just lied to us, the American folks. You know; you and me.

It would seem that any Republican thinking of running for or accepting a position in government, any person thinking of making a public conservative statement, or anyone, just anyone who might oppose the dems, maybe they should make sure they are innocent from birth. Moreover, they better be ready to prove it.

On the other hand, those wanting to support the dems, maybe not so much. Consider Teddy and the drowning of Mary Jo? Consider ol’ Bill and sex in the oval office as well as those who accused him of rape. They have Ds after their names. I mean, let’s let them do what they want. Oh, and by the way, do you happen to remember that Bill was convicted of a real current crime, lying under oath. All of us know, when someone guilty of perjury cannot be trusted on in any other point. That’s sort of a legal thing. Yet the dems are ready to believe, forgive and forget his recent past. It is sort of a memory of convenience.

Frequently Asked Questions

On the subject of Frequently Asked Questions, I have this to say.  Are they truly frequently asked?  Out of all the times I have ever consulted frequently asked questions, I never found the one for which I needed an answer.  Worse yet, I could never find a category.  They always list 4, 5 or 6 categories, then “Other.”  Then when I look under other, I can’t find my question there either.  Not a thing comes close.

I guess that either makes me weird or their questions aren’t as inclusive as they would like to imply.  Moreover, it would seem that I am mostly on my own.  Frequently, I actually figure things out, though it takes some time.  On the other hand, I just tried to install a product that should have not taken over 3 hours to install.  I gave up after 16.  I don’t need any piece of software that I can’t install after 16 hours.  Moreover, it was also difficult to de-install.  Moreover, it was difficult to use.

Taught me a lesson or two.  Next time I am going to install something, I will make sure to mark the spot so I can return to whence I came.  Even that brings me angst.  I have not yet established much trust in the ability of the software that can restore that well.

Be that as I may, the whole thing prompted a thought.  Maybe the US government could establish a frequently asked question web site.  I’m not suggesting it would help much but it would be interesting just what questions they would post and what kind of answers they would concoct, for instance, “What is a woman?”

God’s law was clear, “Though shalt not murder.”  Simple.  Requires little in the way of explanation.  On the other hand, the government at every level has pages and pages on the subject.  Can you imagine querying murder on frequently asked questions?  Did you say you have a day or two to read the reply?

How about something on the subject of abortion.  No problem for the dems…any time, any place, by someone with an MD after his name.  No follow-up exam necessary.

Then, there is the matter of theft.  All you can get away with as long it has a value of less than a grand.  And, by the way, if someone stops you, you can sue their socks off, and get them too.

Contrary to the commandment, we are not to honor our parents.  The job of parenting has been turned over to the daycares, schools and colleges.  In short the government.  By the way, we’d better not forget it or the FBI will be after us.

Incidentally, if we ask who should be in control, it’s the dems.  We best not forget that either or we will be tossed in the hoosegow and we’ll not see the light of day for years, if ever.

I guess it would be a bad idea to look for that on the FAQ list.  They will look for you and prohibit you from publishing a book, being on TV or radio.  Your name will instantly be mud, perhaps literally.

Incidentally, lest I forget, bribes too are wrong, even the ones that are completely legal. The Bible does make that perfectly clear. You wouldn’t doubt what this had you read the entire Bible. It really is in there, plain and simple to see for all. It says something about the way bribes cloud judgement. I am sure that is indisputable, even if you do not believe what is written.

I Don’t Do Surveys

I have had a little to say about surveys already, but maybe it is a good time to revisit the idea. The problem with the surveys is the wording of the questions. Many times, there is no true answers. They ask true false questions when the reply is neither true nor false. They ask multiple choice questions when they don’t have my answer listed. Unfortunately, they do not include a choice of none of the above.

Generally, after the 1st 3 or 4 questions, I know the purpose of the survey and who is behind it. Without doubt, the questions are worded to benefit those sponsoring the questionnaire. Indeed, the survey is obviously intended to affect opinion more than determining opinions.

The promp for me writing this is a request for my cellphone phone provider to take a survey. Thought about taking it just to gather evidence. You think, maybe those questions just might be worded without bias? I think not.

On the other hand, if you want my opinion on my provider, I will be glad to tell anyone. But don’t expect it to be either rosey or horid. However, there is one thing I would like to tell one and all. They have included some things on the phone that I cannot remove. For instance; I can’t remove tic toc. There are holidays on the calendar that cannot be removed. Perhaps worst, I keep setting the ‘do not disturb ‘ function unintentionally and without knowing it. As a result I missed 5 calls, 3 of which were important… sort of the reason I carry a cell phone.

It does make me wonder if that was in some way on their survey.

And, oh yes. I am still wondering how I turned the do not disturb function on. Just maybe I’ll find out one day…hopefully before I miss another important call, as when my wife is desperately trying to call me.

Wrong Strategy

I don’t know why the bunch trying to prove fraud used the strategy. It was all wrong. The world was busy covering it up before the election was over. The approach should have been an attempt to prove they did not obey the law. Now only could it easily be proved but some of the guilty outright admitted it.

Now we have a big, awful settlement, likely settled for convenience and appearance than for any wrongdoing. Many good lawyers suggested that FOX might have beat it. I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer. However, now FOX will be far more careful of what they say and about whom. It only gave the dems more encouragement.

On the other hand, if they had said they did not follow the law, the dems would not have sued and it would have been much worse for the dems.

As an aside, we might have done better in 2022 and Fauci might be in prison for the next thousand years.

Makes a Person Want to Shake His Head

A preacher (Bishop Woods) caught my attention a while ago.  He knew what he was talking about.  Then he mentioned roughly that he went into a Walgreens and picked up a package of masks.  On the reverse side, he saw the disclaimer “Will not prevent corona disease.”

Now that just makes a person want to shake his head.  It causes me no end of confusion.  Just what is the purpose of the masks?  Just why is it that we were required to wear masks that the manufacturer admits won’t work?  What is it that Fauci knows that we don’t?  Just why does he want us to wear masks that he knows don’t work?

I mean, if the manufacturer knows they don’t work, I’m sure Fauci is well aware of it.  Does he like the discomfort they cause?  Does he like it when we all walk into banks looking like bank robbers?  Does he enjoy the fact that he has made it impossible to eat, drink, or play the oboe.  Does he like all the commotion he created on airplanes from 2-year-olds?

Let us take this just a little farther.  What about the shots.  Properly, the shots should have been marked, “Will not prevent corona virus.”  You do realize it had nearly zero affect.  On the other hand, they did cause problems, especially with younger people.  Some had heart problems.  I suspect there were deaths from it.

Yet, even today, the boosters are still encouraged.

Guess what?  They don’t work.  It’s time to stop pretending they work.  It’s time we start using different means, something that might actually work.  You know.  Things like those meds that actually showed signs of working that the government and social media mocked so devastatingly.

Just shows to go, the government, especially one run by Joe doesn’t know best.  Oh! And by the way.  Those social media outfits have a lot of apologizing to do.  Some folks lost their jobs.  Some were forced from the military and lost their retirement.  Some folks went to jail for their the stupidity of a few who had not an inkling of knowledge on the subject.  Best to let real doctors, real researchers do the job.  We need to keep the politicians and social idiots out of it.

Oh! By the way, many unmasked diseased were welcomed into this country by the government with diseases far worse than the corona virus.

Just makes a person want to shake his head.

Unwinnable

Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that the US will never win another war. The reason is more than clear. We have forgotten how to fight to win. That makes it logical that we cannot win if we continue to fight only enough to keep from losing.

Then, over time, we inevitably tire of the fight and we lose. More accurately, we give up and withdraw.

When we went into Iraq, it was said we learned the lesson of Vietnam. Yet, about 10 years later, we abandoned the Iraq people and watched the massive killing of over a million. We did even worse in Afghanistan.

How much worse can we do? I think we are going to find out soon.

New & Old

A while ago, I noticed a new shooting range nearby. For a number of weeks I drove by looking from a distance. Yesterday, I went in, just to look around. I must say, I was very much impressed.

First, it was well stocked. They had a wide variety of new and used. Yes, they had many varieties of the AR15, the civilian version of the M16. To my surprise, they even had an M14.

Came close to buying it. It had been over fifty years since I touched one. I was surprised to realize that it felt quite familiar to me, if you’ll permit, as a long lost friend. Even so, I was reminded of its nine pound weight. I reluctantly decided against the purchase. I could afford the gun but not the hobby. Also, it would be a magnet to many a thief who might find out I have it.

Secondly, the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. It didn’t take long for me to realize it. If a person is going to buy a gun, it is good to know they are buying from someone who knows his wares.

Finally, it seemed a good business. It is modern, clean and well organized.

I suspect they are the type that would seek out complaints, but there aren’t likely many.

Why can’t all businesses that way.

As for the M14 I much prefer it over the M16. I qualified with both and, though the M16 is much easier to tote and fire, I have far more faith in the M14. It might be older. It might have more kick. I am sure that it is more accurate and lethal. And that is what a rifle is for.

Competition is a Wonderful Thing

Let’s go back to the days of yore. Let’s imagine 3 cobblers set up shop. Which one will have the most success. To some degree, the one that is the fastest. However, the cobbler who makes a thousand shoes will never succeed unless he can sell his shoes. Therefore, his shoes need to be of good quality and the proper sizes. No one will buy shoes that are too small or will fall apart in a week.

If there were just 1 cobbler, we’d be stuck with whatever he wanted to make. The footware would be ugly, ill fitting and they wouldn’t last. The instant a second cobbler opens up shop, and then a 3rd and fourth, the quality would go up and the cost would go down.

It’s the way competition works and it’s wonderful. For well over 200 years, it has turned the USA to the greatest nation ever. There is no other country where people are willing to risk everything to get in. Moreover, as badly as the illegal aliens are treated, they hide in fear of being sent home.

Yet we prevent fair competition in one of the most important parts of our society. Of course private schools have a hard time competing with public schools. The government is picking up the tab for public schools.

Yet, there are thousands of parents willing to make great sacrifices to put their children in private schools. The why is quite simple. Public schools lack quality. They simply lack good teachers, good curriculum or good results.

The libs brag about public schools but, take away public funding and they would instantly go away. I know this is true because the libs themselves have said as much. They have said if monies are diverted to private schools, the public schools would go away. They actually live in fear of it.

Well, maybe they should go away. It is the way of competition. Only the better schools would survive. Only the best teachers would continue to teach. It is the American way. It is what made America great. Why in the world should we settle for a less than a mediocre education system when we are paying for the best?

Settling for mediocre schools is worse than Settling for mediocre shoes. And yet we stand by and watch our public school funds being poured down the proverbial drain…without results.