I have struggled my entire life with my weight. From as far back as I can remember, I was never your average size person. I never realized that I was overweight until I got into Junior high school, and certain people did not hesitate to point out my flaws. Throughout my youth I wasn’t extremely overweight, chubby is the term I would use. Even after I got out of boot camp, when I was in the best shape of my life, I still held on to some stubborn weight around the midsection.

After I got out of the Navy, at 21 years old, is where my problems really began. I no longer had the mandatory exercise program. I also found that I really enjoyed good, fattening, unhealthy foods. Combine this with my love of beer and more recently my love of bourbon and my weight began to skyrocket.

I am a 6-foot-tall man, and I currently weigh in at about 265. This is not the heaviest I have been, nor is it the lightest. For the past 10 years or so, I have been on a roller coaster of weight. I go up and down, round and around. The lowest I have seen in recent years was 227 lbs. But the shocking highest I hit was 278 lbs. This hit me like a brick. Last year, after I stepped on the scale and it read 278, I looked in the mirror and realized that something has to drastically change.

I have known for quite some time that there are a lot of hereditary health issue that run in my family, and being overweight only exaggerates those issues. I realized that I am reaching middle age, and if I don’t so something soon, things could go wrong for me really quickly.

I made a mental pact that I would lose the weight this year, and keep it off. Being the typical procrastinator that I am, I got off to a really slow start. I bounced up and down a little bit the first couple of months, until one day I woke up and I really felt like shit. This was two weeks ago, and so far I am on the right track to get where I want to be by my 40^th birthday in November.

I thought I would share my story with everyone in hopes that it will encourage others to do what I am doing and get yourself into shape. My goal is to do this with the least amount of sacrifice. In the past I would go on crazy crash diets. I have tried multiple things, from extreme calorie deficit, to all juice, to low or no carb, low fat, etc… This time it is different. I have said it before, but I feel that it truly is going to be a whole different scenario this time.

I am not dieting. I am going to do something like I did back in 2013 when I got my weight down to 227 lbs. Only this time it will be slower, more meticulous. I have a created a plan and a goal that is measurable and attainable. I am going to share some of this plan with you, it will work for me, but it will take a lot of discipline.

Two week ago when I woke up feeling like shit, I decided to fast. I jumped headfirst into a water fast for 48 hours. I had not done any research on the subject, it just felt right. I came to find out, that I was right and wrong at the same time, but I educated myself on the subject, like I tend to do when there is something that I don’t know enough about.

This two-day water fast kick started my journey and opened my eyes to what I really need to do. I need to exercise at least 5 days a week, I need to eat healthier, I need to eat less food and I need to stop drinking alcohol every day. By themselves, these things are easy, but combined they will prove to be difficult. There is nothing more enjoyable in my life than eating good, tasty, and usually unhealthy food. Along with that, I love to eat to my heart’s content. And if you don’t know, I love alcohol of all kinds.

The most difficult part of this for me will be the lack of alcohol. I am not an alcoholic, I often go for days on end without a drink and don’t even think about it, especially on work nights. However, I love to tie one on over the weekends, or have a glass of wine with dinner or a few beers after work. These empty calories, along with the mass quantities of tasty, unhealthy food are the main reason I am overweight.

How you might ask, how do I plan to overcome this? Really it is quite simple…stop doing those things. That’s it. The drinking thing, I have that covered. I have enough willpower to keep myself from the constant drinking. The hard part is the occasional drinking. I made myself a deal that I will not touch a drop of alcohol until I lose at least 25 lbs. This is my first challenge, especially since I have a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla Washington planned for the end of June. So I basically have until then to drop the first 25 lbs.

This lack of alcohol will be the biggest factor in my weight loss journey, it has gotten the ball rolling and I have not had a drop in almost two weeks now. I have complete confidence in myself to keep this promise of not drinking, now that I have begun to combine this with the other steps, the challenge really begins.

Step two consists of calorie deficit. This is something I have become accustomed to over the years while riding this weight rollercoaster. Everyone knows, in order to lose weight, you must have more calories going out than you have coming in. 3500 calories equals one pound of fat. So in order to burn one pound of fat you must burn 3500 calories more than you take in. To accomplish this, you must do it at a rate that will not be too much of a deficit or too hard on your body. Otherwise you will suffer and rebound back to worse than where you started. A good goal it to shoot for is a 20% calorie deficit. And the most you should possibly shoot for and do it in a healthy way is 2 lbs per week or 7000 calorie deficit. This is what I am shooting for.

According to the professionals and a nifty online calculator I found, I need to take in no more than 2300 calories per day to lose 2 lbs per week. I have found this number to be false. The first time I tried this, I saw almost no result. This was still too many calories for me, so I reduced it. I dropped to 2000 calories per day and I saw a slight improvement, a little less than 1 lb per week average. So I went even one step further. I dropped to 1700 calories per day. This started doing the trick, especially when I added in 35-40 minutes per day, 5 days a week at the gym. Technically, this is a 50% reduction in calories according to those scientists, but I have put in the time and I know what works for me.

So now I am not drinking alcohol, I am on a calorie deficit trying to consume less than 2000 calories per day…closer to 1700 if possible. I am hitting the gym 5 days a week with minimal strength training and mostly light cardio. Which brings me to my final step in this endeavor…fasting!

Through my research, I have learned that fasting can have some very powerful effects on the human body. A simple 2 or 3-day water fast can and will have great results in not only weight loss but in my overall health. After my 48-hour crash water fast, I saw some minimal results in weight loss, but I did notice that besides the headache, I felt great. I learned that the headache is normal, but mine was excruciating. I never should have jumped right into a fast like that without preparing first. Part of my current plan is to perform a minimum of a 48-hour water fast once per month. This is not something to be taken lightly and it does require planning to be successful. However, it should be much easier now that I am alcohol free and eating better. If you would like to try a fast, I recommend doing so reading first. http://www.allaboutfasting.com/

I want to discuss something that I have not really touched on yet. Though my change in diet will now consist of healthier food, I will not sacrifice the things that I enjoy (except my alcohol intake), this is the key to my future success. For example, I allow myself a treat every day, usually in the form of a couple pieces of dark chocolate. I am finding foods that I enjoy eating and making healthier versions of those foods. When I do have a craving for one of my favorites, I eat it. As long as I maintain my calorie deficit I am still on track. The only real sacrifice I have made is giving up alcohol for the time being and forcing myself to go to the gym every day. Over time I will be able to indulge in my favorite alcohol in moderation and possibly cut my gym visits down to 3 times per week…but not until I am at a happy weight. The maintenance after weight loss is imperative. It is the reason I have failed so many times in the past. I know this now, and I plan to change that this time around.

I would also like to mention that the last time I did this, I killed it. I lost a total of 40 lbs over a 7-month period of time. I was feeling good, the results were obvious and people began to take notice. Here is where I went wrong and how I climbed back on that weight rollercoaster. I refused to keep up with the maintenance and fell back into my horrible ways. Even with minimal effort, I could have avoided this massive weight gain.

Last time, I started in the winter, after the holidays and like I said, I was killing it. As summer rolled around, I began brewing beer again, enjoying the barbeques and hanging out with family, eating drinking and being Mary (inside joke I know it is spelled merry). I was tracking my calories less and less and I practically stopped going to the gym. By then, the holidays rolled around again and I boy do I love all that good food, sweets and alcohol. I quickly began to regain the weight. Honestly, it took me just as long to gain it back as it did to lose. I knew it was happening, I felt terrible, and I noticed that the clothes were getting tighter again. I have climbed on and off the roller coaster sooooo many times since then, but recently I realized what it is going to take to keep me off that crazy weight rollercoaster.

Will power!! It is all a matter of will power…that’s it. I lost the weight last time out of sheer will. All I had to do was maintain that loss, but I got lazy. I told myself things like…it’s only a few pounds, I will hit the gym again next week. I was in denial, I enjoyed the food, the bourbon, the beer. I still do, and now I just need to balance my love for those things with my love for being able to walk up stairs without getting winded, or slipping on my shoes because it is too difficult to tie them.

Quite honestly, I would like to reach and maintain a weight of 200 lbs. This is a very difficult weight for me to reach, but it is possible. I will be satisfied if I can get below 225, but I will try to maintain my lifestyle to a point that I continue to work towards that ultimate goal of 200.

If anyone out there would like to join me on this journey, let me know. It is always easier to get in shape with the help and support of friends. I use some apps to help me track my weight, exercise and calorie intake, like MyFitnessPal and FitBit. I have found that I don’t really need the support to lose the weight, but I bet it would do better keeping it off with a little help from my limited number of friends!

The title pretty much says it all. Opinions are like Assholes, everyone has one and they all stink. Yeah even mine…I am sure there will be some people that read this Blog and think my opinion stinks. So stop reading it, unfriend me on Facebook, lose my phone number I really don’t care. I wonder if more people had an attitude like mine if the world would be a better place.

I get all fired up sometimes, especially when I read the mainstream news. Not so much the content of the news, I know it is mostly made up bullshit! But the comments people make on articles from these mainstream news outlets blow my mind. People are so narrow minded and set in their own ways of thinking. Most of these people think they are so smart and all of them think their opinion is right. Well, I am going to share my opinion on all of the hot topics of today. And of course like all these other assholes, I am right you are wrong. In the words of Daniel Tosh, I’m better than you, Na-na Na-na Boo-Boo stick your head in Doo-Doo.

Lets start with the list of hot topics from US News and World Report.

1. Immigration: This country was built by immigrants. Each and every one of us (unless you are 100% Native American) are descendants of immigrants. People who came to this country seeking a better way of life. I don’t think anyone has any issue with immigration. What people don’t seem to understand is that MOST of us do have an issue with Illegal Immigration. Why is it so difficult for this country to come up with a simple cost effective way for people to come to this country legally? It is quite simple really. Fill out a form, pay a small processing fee and get a temporary citizenship I.D. Over the next two years you will be looked in on to make sure you are becoming a productive member of our society. Working, paying taxes, learning to speak English and obeying laws. If you violate these laws, stop paying taxes or fail to meet these requirements, swift justice, we will load you on a bus, boat or plane and ship your ass back where you came from…you can apply again after 1 year. If you are removed from the country more than once, we place a micro chip somewhere under your skin and track your ass to ensure you never return here again!!
2. Same Sex Marriage: Why is this such a big damn deal. I don’t care if someone want to marry their boyfriend, sister, cousin, dog, hamster. WHO CARES!!!! That is all I have to say about that…it is a STUPID TOPIC!!
3. Education: Here we go. Our education system is BROKEN. From Kindergarten through Graduate School. You can read more about my opinion on education in my blog post Life Skills. Basically we are going about education all wrong, hence the reason there are 5.6 million trade jobs in the U.S. that we are unable to fill. We are teaching kids how to take tests in grade school, forcing kids to go to college and charging them a fortune for it. Most people are not built for this type of system. We cant and should not be telling kids that the only way to live a successful life is by going to college…it is just not TRUE!!
4. Gun Control: If any of you have read any of my Blogs, you know I am very passionate about this subject. Guns have been and always will be a part of society, every society. They will change, get more powerful, get smarter and more complex. Anyone who thinks that World Peace is ever possible has not been paying attention. There will always be some form of violence and war. It is millions of years in the making, deeply embedded in Human DNA. Violence is not going to end, no matter how many laws you pass, criminals will still have guns. Laws do not prevent crime, they are put in place as a deterrent and to have some form of written documentation on how to punish people who break them. You can write all the laws you want in an attempt to control guns and who has them, but you will only prevent law abiding people from obtaining them. If you want more of my opinion on Gun Control go HERE!
5.   Taxes and the Economy: This shit has gotten out of hand. The bigger the government gets the more the people get taxed. Did you know in the last 7 years under the direction of this government our National Debt has gone up 10 Trillion dollars?? It has Doubled in just 7 years. That is insane!!!! Government spending is out of control. Taxation is out of control. The top 20% of earners in this country pay nearly 84% of all taxes and the bottom 60% of earners pay only 2%. Can you say LOPSIDED. Progressives want the top 20% to pay more. How is that even possible? They want the top 20% to pay more so they can give more to the bottom 60%. It is common sense to know that is not right. People have become so dependent on the government that soon this bubble is going to burst, and shit is really going to get bad. Social Welfare is not the answer. Printing money is not the answer. We are too far in over our heads, I just hope I die before the levee breaks. I feel sorry for my kids and their future.
6. Health Care: Here is yet another joke that is not so funny. Instead of reforming the health care system our brilliant government decided a better idea is to subsidize Health Insurance and force people to buy it. The health care system is like a giant pyramid scheme. Becoming a doctor cost a fortune and takes a lot of time. Hence doctors need to make  more money to compensate for this. Advanced medical equipment is expensive, so the cost of health care is expensive. Doctors get sued when they make a mistake, so they need to have even more Insurance, cost go up even more! I have an idea, how about a non-profit health care system? The hell you say, you mean only charge people what it actually cost to receive care?? Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?? Unfortunately, we are so far past the ability to do this. You cant trust the government to do it…look how well they have done so far. Human kindness is the only way this could ever work. It would take people to start non profit hospitals, good doctors to take a reasonable salary and good humans not to bring litigation against the very people that are helping them when they make a mistake. Human nature will never allow this to happen, people are too stupid and greedy!
7.  Climate Change: This is the biggest money making scam of the 20th century, and will be even bigger in the 21st century. I do not doubt that humans are causing pollution, that is common sense. But I will tell you this…if someone found 100% definitive proof that Climate Change is a natural occurrence, that person would get buried in a deep dark hole and never heard from again. Global Warming/Climate Change is a multi-billion dollar per year THEORY. Creating thousands of government and private sector jobs. Of course alternative energy sources are wonderful and they should be studied and implemented when and where they are cost effective. Luckily for us our government is involved so there is no way anything cost effective will happen now. Did you know that the budget for the Department of Energy will be almost $30 Billion for 2016…how much of that money will actually be used to save energy? NONE!!! I have an idea, lets take that $30 Billion per year and physically install green energy technology around the country instead of just spending it on research. Let the private companies spend their money on R&D and actually put our tax dollars to work. If our government would buy the products from these companies with that money instead of subsidizing their research we would all be better off.
8. Foreign Policy: This is a losing battle, we keep trying to bring World Peace by being the World Police…good luck with that. This country does not need a foreign policy…We are going off the grid!! We have all the natural resources we need in this country, Mexico and Canada. We do not need to play big brother all around the world. We should concern ourselves with Defense and stop playing Offence. This of course will never happen, America is the life blood of the world economy. If it were up to me I would integrate Mexico into the United States, continue relations with Canada and we are all set. We don’t need Chinese crap. We don’t need to import anything outside Mexico and Canada. If we cant make it in our country, we don’t need it. We have the technology, the ability and the workforce to get it done. Let the rest of the world fend for themselves for a while.
9. Marijuana Legalization: I added this one because it is a hot topic, and a really stupid one. Let me see…there is this plant that grows from the ground that when ingested or smoked causes mind altering effects…SO…lets outlaw it. WTF!!! Drug companies can make artificial substances that do this and we call them medicine and they kill thousands every year, legal. Tobacco kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, legal. Alcohol has to be manufactured and kills thousands every year, legal. But this PLANT is illegal. This is just another example of how stupid and wasteful our government is.

Well these are my opinions, they stink, I know. But they are mine and I am right. If you don’t like it, I don’t care!

Dick

Well I am back…It has been a while since I decided to get all wound up about something. This time it happens to be all the people discussing minimum wage, especially here in little old Idaho.

I would like to start with some information and statistics from where I live, Idaho. Many of you may know that Idaho is a low wage paying state, but it is also a low cost of living state. As a matter of fact, Idaho was ranked the 3rd lowest cost of living state in the U.S. for 2015. Combine that with our low unemployment rate and conservative government, Idaho is a great state to live in.

You wouldn’t think this to be true by talking to a lot of Native Idahoans. Many of these individuals that have lived exclusively in Idaho their entire lives are under the impression that it is NOT a cheap place to live. I can attest to the fact having traveled to and lived in other states that Idaho is by far an inexpensive state to call home.

Lets take for example a similar size city in California and compare it to a city in Idaho. Modesto, CA has about the same population as Boise, ID. In Modesto, here is an example of how much more life would cost you compared to Boise. Groceries 18% more, Housing 45% more, Utilities 32% more, Transportation 10% more. So on average it cost 26.25% more to live in a similar size city.

In Modesto the minimum wage is the same as the State of CA minimum wage $10.00 per hour. In Boise the minimum wage is the Federal $7.25 per hour. That means in Modesto, minimum wage workers make 27.5% more per hour than in Boise. So as you can see the minimum wage in Boise goes just as far as the minimum wage in Modesto…pretty close right.

OK, lets assume that the Federal government raises the minimum wage to $10.00 per hour. Great right? The people in Boise now have extra money to spend. Not so fast…a raise in the minimum wage will cause inflation in Boise. Prices of goods and services will go up…It is hard to say by how much, but I will look at that in a minute. Now lets look at Modesto, they didn’t get an increase in minimum wage because they are already at the $10.00 per hour mark. So did this increase in the Federal mandate help those people? NOPE!! In fact, it added more people to the Federal minimum wage level!!

OK, lets look at another statistic. In 2014 the state of Idaho had approximately 412,000 workers that were paid on an hourly basis. of that 420K only 21,000 were paid at or below minimum wage (about 5.1%) In 2014 Idaho employed around 628,000 people. That means only 3.3% of all employed Idahoans were paid at or below minimum wage. The national average of minimum wage workers ages 16-24 years old is 31.9%. That means if we use that average for Idaho, approximately 6700 of those 21,000 minimum wage workers were 24 years old or younger…the majority are 16-19 year old around 15%.

To be fair, lets say the Federal government raised the minimum wage to $10.00/hr. That means in Idaho at least 21,000 of the 628,000 workers will get a pay increase. Lets assume that another 5% were making over the minimum wage but below $10/hr. That would give us 41,000 people who would get a pay increase. That is 6.5% of the working population in Idaho. Those are generous numbers in my opinion, since the median wage in Idaho is $14.93 per hour. But that’s okay, I am a generous guy! 😉

Now you are probably thinking how much of an effect could this possibly have on the economy in Idaho. Well let us take a look. On average 57% of minimum wage workers are employed in the Leisure and Hospitality industry. That means hotels, restaurants, transportation, recreation, tourism, and entertainment. The cost of goods and services at all of these places will definitely increase to cover the cost of paying employees.

This means that 93.5% of the workers in Idaho just took a pay cut. What you talkin’ bout Willis? A Pay CUT?? Put it this way, if the cost of goods and services go up, but your pay does not, that is the same as taking a pay cut. Lets say that the cost of living goes up to match the increase in the minimum wage increase 27.5%. All those people that thought they benefited from the wage increase actually broke even, and the other 93.5% of people are making less money every year because of the increased cost of goods and services.

That’s Idaho, how will this effect other states? Well I am glad you asked! Lets look at California. This lovely little Progressive state already has a Minimum wage of $10.00 per hour, so most people in that state will not benefit from a Federal increase at all. In fact, the federal numbers are skewed because California already pays above the Federal minimum, so it is hard to determine how many more people in CA would be working at or below Federal standards, but I would venture to guess it will be in the 10’s of thousands.

Currently 21 states follow the Federal minimum wage guideline. Most of those 21 states also boast the lowest cost of living. Basically a Federal minimum wage increase will have a drastic effect on these 21 states. Increasing their cost of living, causing inflation etc…So what is the right minimum wage amount………..$0.00………..That’s right folks, none. there is no need for a Federal or even a State mandated minimum wage!! Here is a little video to help you understand…Minimum Wage

Because I am such a nice guy, and I like to give credit where credit is due. I have attached the document from 2014 where I got a lot of these numbers for your review. I suggest spending some time looking through it, one of my favorite parts is the section that shows minimum wage workers by education. Note that workers that attend an Occupational program or work in a trade are less likely to get paid minimum wage than those that get an Associates or Bachelors degree. 1.7 percent of people that went through Occupational programs make minimum wage compared to 2.2% with an Associates degree and 1.9% with a Bachelors degree. I wonder if that has anything to do with our society forcing kids to go to college and steering them away from the Trades…well I think I already covered that topic in my Blog under Life Skills.

Until next time…

Dick

I have heard this many times before. I have posted the Audio of it on Social Media, but today I read the words. I read them and I let them sink deep into my soul. I have seen too many negative things said about our countries Law Enforcement Officers over the past year and it absolutely disgust me. Before I get to deep into it, please read these words…think about them…understand them and try to imagine yourself walking in the shoes of a police officer for just one day. Hopefully I can get through to some with this posting, I doubt it. Most of the people that read my blog already feel the same way as I do. On the off chance that this gets spread far and wide and reaches the masses, and I pray it does…maybe, just maybe I can make someone think and understand what it means. If I can open just one persons mind with this blog post, my mission will be complete.

A Policeman is a composite of what all men are, mingling of a saint and sinner, dust and deity.

Gulled statistics wave the fan over the stinkers, underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are “new”. What they really mean is that they are exceptional, unusual, not commonplace.

Buried under the frost is the fact: Less than one-half of one percent of policemen misfit the uniform. That’s a better average than you’d find among clergy!

What is a policeman made of? He, of all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He’s a strangely nameless creature who is “sir” to his face and “fuzz” to his back

He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won.

But…If the policeman is neat, he’s conceited; if he’s careless, he’s a bum. If he’s pleasant, he’s flirting;if not, he’s a grouch.

He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make.

But…If he hurries, he’s careless; if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued.

The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn’t hurt.He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being “brutal”. If you hit him, he’s a coward. If he hits you, he’s a bully.

A policeman must know everything-and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.

A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal- and tell you where the criminal is hiding.

But…If he catches the criminal, he’s lucky; if he doesn’t, he’s a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn’t, he’s a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen-but refused to remember.

The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.

And, of course, he’d have to be genius….For he will have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.

I am not a police officer, nor have I ever been or will I ever be. I do not have the patience or the civility to deal with this many people on a daily basis. I was raised in a Police Family. My Father spent most of his working years as a police officer dealing with these very issues that Paul Harvey describes every day. I know this, I have see it first hand. I could see the struggle in his face when I was young. Until I grew older and started a family of my own, I didn’t really know what that was. The look on his face after a long shift. Why he was so eager to get to bed or fall asleep when he came home from work. What did this man have to do on a daily basis that made him so stressed and tired all the time. But somehow he did it. Somehow he raised 5 children on that Police Officers Salary. Somehow he found time to coach my Baseball team. Somehow he found time to teach my siblings and I the difference between wrong and right. Somehow he found time to be there for us as a Father, a Husband, and a Police Officer.

Being a Police Officer all those years almost killed him. Not just on the job…but because of the job. The criminals and their hatred for police is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to close encounters with death. It is the aftermath from the everyday dealings with crime, what it does to a person mentally and physically. How the stress alone is enough to kill the average man. I didn’t realize that every night I went to sleep that one morning he just might not come home. These are the things you don’t know or want to know as a kid. Somehow he kept that danger from us, that knowledge that what he really did every day was so dangerous that he may not return home at night. I had no idea that at any point in my childhood that my father looked danger straight in the face every day, but still returned home to his family and tried to put those dealings and experiences way back in his mind and not share that grief or stress with us.

I cant imagine what these men and women go through on a daily basis. Yet I hear people bashing police, badmouthing them because of the encounters they have had. I have not had very many encounters with police officers in my everyday life, yet somehow all of the encounters I have had were civil, courteous and polite. I think to myself and wonder sometimes why is this? Why have I not had any of these bad encounters with Law enforcement Officers that so many people describe? I realize it is due to one thing…I try not to break the law, and so far in life I have done a pretty good job of obeying the laws of our country. And the times I did have encounters with police officers, I either knew I was breaking the law already or I was unaware of the law that I was breaking. In both instances I have acted accordingly. I was open & honest, courteous, and I complied with requests and lawful commands. Even in the times where the police officer was not in a good mood or appeared agitated or upset. Even in times where I didn’t think I was breaking the law and I found out after the fact. Following these basic ideas has made every encounter with the Police very uneventful.

Take a step back for a moment and think about it. These men and women have the most dangerous job in our country. They barely make a livable wage, they care about our society and keeping the peace and upholding the law. Like Paul Harvey said, “Less than one-half of one percent of policemen misfit the uniform. That’s a better average than you’d find among clergy!” These men and women have a thankless job. They want to do their job and return home every night to their families and live a life in a safe community. Is it too much for us to ask as a society to obey the laws, respect the officers and comply with their commands. If you think you are right and they are wrong, that’s great.  Get a lawyer and take it up in court. Don’t fight with the person trying to uphold the law, we have a whole other legal system designed for fighting. I can tell you this, you are much less likely to get Shot, Tasered, Beaten or Battered by a police officer if you do two simple things. 1. Obey the law. 2. Do as they say and take your argument up in court not on the street.

For those of you that are angered by bad experience with Law Enforcement, or are angry because someone you know has had bad experiences. Stop, think and read the words of Paul Harvey I posted here. Police Officers are people too. They are only human. Humans make mistakes. Don’t hold a grudge against all of them because of your bad experience with one or a few. Hating all police officers because you had a bad experience with one makes you a Bigot…. Definition: A person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance. I have met a lot of police officers in my life time, I did not like all of them, I absolutely hated some of them, and I loved some of them. I refuse to define an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. If the people of this world could bring themselves to this way of thinking, we truly would be that much closer to peace on earth!

Every time I turn on the news, open a news paper, pull up news online or even open up Facebook, I become more and more disgusted with people. I am deeply disgusted with our society. I watch videos, read the news headlines…and most of the time I can barely force myself to read the articles for fear of being sick.

Here it is, the most recent event that people are talking about.  Two days ago, two young reporters were shot and killed on national TV, all while being recorded by the cowardly shooter. It has been reported that this was a racial killing. The shooter was a black man that killed two white people just because they were white, and he was pissed off. The first statement and response from the White House on this matter was the fact that our country lacks gun control. If we had better gun control, none of this would have happened. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoRX_vciguA. Two days later the president has yet to formally step forward with a statement about the incident. In a more recent event of a shooting in a Black church in the name of racism and hate, the President addressed the nation in person along side the vice president the morning after the tragedy took place. He begins to talk about the history of the church and of its black ancestors shortly before jumping into the Gun Control Speech. And slowly rolls back into the issue of racist killings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9oem60eU6M.

What is really pissing me off is the politics of this mess. Two white people are killed in the name of hate and racism, and the President sends his spokesperson out to discuss the issue of gun control, not a single mention of Race hatred. But when black people are killed by a white man in the name of racism and hate, the first thing brought to light is the racism and hate, and then the gun control. The bigger issue that nobody appears to be noticing is this. No amount of gun control would have prevented either of these two crimes…NONE!! Banning and confiscating all guns in the entire country would not have stopped these hate crimes. This country has porous borders, guns, drugs and people pour through our border undetected every day. People try to compare our so called gun problem to the UK or Australia, neither of which have the same scenario of porous borders surrounding them.

The real problem…The corporate owned liberal media and the corporate owned government. The lies, deception, fear and hate that they spew into our country and the minds of our people. They are creating problems that should not exist to satisfy their own agendas!

I have traveled around a majority of the United States, liberal states, conservative states, southern states you name it, I have been to most of them. In all of my travels and the people that I have worked with of every race, color and origin…I have met very few truly racist people. When I say truly racist people, I mean hatefully racist…like burn a cross on your lawn racist…call a black person a nigger to their face racist. These types of people are few and far between…in a country of 320 million people I would say these people make up less than 1 percent. I have also met marginally racist people, and when I say marginally racist, I mean those people that have some form of racial bigotry. You know the type, the white lady that locks her car door when she sees a black man coming down the street. Or the black guy who makes fun of the white businessman in his nice suit, just because he is white. These people are not generally racist, but have some form of bad feelings towards people who are different than they are.

Then you have people like myself. I am not a racist person…but I do judge people. I judge them based on their actions, the way they carry themselves, the way they speak to and treat other people. My racism is against all races and all colors. Like my Father always said, “I hate everyone equally”. Let me give you an example. I see a dirty, tattooed white male walking towards me on the street. The first thought that runs through my mind is, steer clear of this low life dirt bag, what a waste of human flesh this guy is. I don’t know this man from Adam, he could be the nicest most harmless person on the planet, but I still have that first thought. Example #2. I see a gang-banger looking black male, pants hanging down, hat on all crooked, walking like he got hit by a bus with that pimp limp…the thought runs through my mind…steer clear of this stupid thug, he is just out looking for trouble!

Now in both scenarios, my first thought was to steer clear of both of these men, even though I have no idea who they are or what they stand for. I called them names in my head just because of their appearance. One man White, the other Black…but I had the same preconceived notion about both men. WHY? Body language, the way they dressed and carried them selves…it has nothing to do with the color of their skin. If those same two men were walking towards me on the street wearing decent clothing, walking in a normal fashion, looked clean cut and their body language did not exude THREAT, my thought process would have been totally different. Race is not an issue for me, skin color is not an issue. Most Americans feel this same way. We see color, but we don’t hate because of it. Most people don’t look a someone of a different color and immediately have thoughts of hatred just because they are a different color. Most people do have some form of fear mechanism that can be triggered by another persons body language and appearance. And many times that fear is construed as hatred or racism, when it simply is not.

No matter where you are born, how you are raised, the color of your skin, or how much money Mommy and Daddy have…every American has opportunities available to them…We all have the ability to change the outcome of our own lives. The richer you are the easier it is, the poorer you are the harder you have to work. We get out of life what we put into it. If you live with a mind set that someone always owes you something, you will never become successful. If you live in the mindset that you will be held back because of the color of your skin, you will not make it very far in life. If you go through every day thinking about racism and hatred towards you, it will consume your life. I know for a fact there is a large number of people that hate white people. I don’t ever think about it, I certainly don’t let it consume me, nor do I care. If someone wants to hate me because of the color of my skin…I DON’T CARE!! I am a bigger person than that, I don’t even consider in my mind that it exists. Morgan Freeman hits the nail on the head with this one.

Why is racial tension at an all time high in our country right now? It is simple, the media has a mantra, If it bleeds it leads. They have created this tension in order to get people to watch the news. People watch the news and the corporations make money from advertising. The corporations need things like race riots & mass shootings to get viewers to watch the news so they can sell their products, make more money, and put fear into Americans. The corporations and the government want you to be afraid, it serves their purpose and their agenda of obtaining complete power over you. How is the government involved you ask? It is simple, the corporations own the government, they buy and sell politicians to support their agendas to make more money, and to keep you afraid. Reporting on the recent race riots and killings they have created fear. Fear is a very powerful thing. These rare so called racial murders and mass shootings that happen further push their agenda… Create racial tension and fear, glorify mass killings. Push gun control, convince americans we have a gun problem in our country. Slowly remove gun rights and eventually remove the guns from the citizens. Once they have removed the guns they have complete control of the people. With complete control of the people the government can do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, however it wants…and we have no power to stop them!!! All of this recent media coverage of racial hatred and mass shootings, is just another attempt to grab up all of the guns from the American people and remove our only defense from a tyrannical government. And guess what America…you are buying into it, hook, line and sinker!

Here are a few facts for you skeptics out there. Here is a chart of Homicide data from the FBI in 2013 FBI Crime Stats. Notice the White on black murder rate. Of the 2491 Black homicides victims the number of White offenders was 189. Most of the black homicides were black on black killings…2245. Now look at the Black on White Statistic. Of the 3005 White homicide victims, 409 of them were killed by a black person. So what does that tell us…13.6% of the Whites were killed by Black people..but only 7.5% of Blacks were killed by whites. How about Police homicides by race. Police Homicides by Race of the 385 homicide by police officers so far in 2015…46.7% were White deaths, 28.7% were Black deaths. Now lets look at the gun control issue, I have shown this data before. Gun Murders. The government wants to ban certain rifles (must be because they look scary) and make it harder for law abiding citizens to obtain any gun. Well of the 12,253 total homicides in 2013, 67% were committed with a firearm. But only 3.7% were committed with a rifle…so why the attack on scary rifles? Handguns were used 72% of the time!!

Here is some more data on death vs. gun crimes in America. In 2013 there were roughly 320 million Americans. That year there were 12,253 total murders in America. That means 0.0038% of Americans were murdered in 2013. There were 2,596,993 deaths in America in 2013. Of those death 0.4% of them were murders, 0.3% of them died by the hands of another using a firearm. Yet of the 2.6 million deaths in America that year, 35,369 were caused by automobiles. 1.3% of all the deaths in America in 2013 were caused by automobiles. Lets put this into perspective…there are an estimated 253 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads. The Congressional Research Service put the number of civilian firearms ownership in the United States at 310 million.  So there is an estimated 53 million more guns in America than there are cars and trucks, but somehow they cause less death. Let’s even add in the suicide issue, for all of those people out there that think death by suicide using a gun has some bearing (in my opinion it does not). In 2013 it is estimated that 32,383 people died in America by the use of a gun. That is still a lower number than all of the automobile deaths…but hey since we are adding suicides into that, I would like to see the number of suicides using the vehicle as the weapon. Nobody is tracking how many people ran a hose from their tailpipe to suffocate to death, I bet that automobile death toll is even higher. Why are we not pushing for tighter Vehicle Control laws!! Why not more in depth Background checks for a drivers license. You can drive a car at the age of 15 in Idaho, but you cant buy a gun until you are 18. Somehow, more people are dying from automobiles than they are guns. Where is Moms Demand Action on this front…they should be picketing in front of the DMV!!

We don’t have a racial hatred issue in America, we don’t have a gun control issue in America, we have a Government Control issue in America. The Corporate Owned Government wants to be in complete control. It has happened over and over in the past 100+ years. Turkey in 1911, The Soviet Union in 1929, China in 1935, Germany in 1938, Cambodia in 1956, Guatemala in 1964, Uganda in 1970, Rwanda in 1994. In everyone of these events in history, the government disarmed its people. The total numbers of victims who lost their lives because of gun control is approximately 70 million people in the 20th century. Our founding fathers were smart men, and they realized this potential of a tyrannical government when they wrote our constitution. The only reason to spread this fear and hate is to gain power and control over the people. I think I have clearly shown that Guns in America are not the problem, Racism in America is not the problem…The Government Agenda is the problem!! What better way to remove the guns from the American hands than to create racial tension, turn the races against each other, to the point they start killing each other with guns…and make guns the problem!!

It is not about race, or gender, or religion…We are Americans. Living in The land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We all need to stop buying into the media…stop listening to their hate and propaganda. Stop letting the news stories about a white cop killing a so called innocent black man get under your skin. Stop letting the new media get into your head that we have gun control issues, when we clearly don’t. Use your voting power to limit the government. Demand term limits in congress. Big government is BAD!! Stop pushing your hateful agendas on other people and live like a HUMAN BEING. Act with love, respect and kindness and treat people the way they deserve to be treated based on their actions. Stop getting all of your information in life from the major news outlets…read blogs, use the internet to do your own research on topics. And for crying out loud…Stop being so quick to pull the race card, just because someone does not like you or disagrees with you does not make them a racist. The color of your skin does not matter, unless you let it matter!!

Take it from the master of his craft, Adolph Hitler. After the rise of the Nazi’s, Germany established their version of gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill, and others, who were unable to defend themselves against the “Brown Shirts”, were arrested and exterminated. Create Hatred and Fear. Take away the freedoms of the people little by little. Remove their only form of self defense, and relinquish complete control to a Tyrannical Dictator. Remember America fought against this monster and won. We can do it again, but our government is already creating the next Adolph Hitler. They are slowly taking away your freedoms little by little, and they are pressuring us to willingly remove our only form of self defense under the guise of racism and hate. Are you willing to let that happen??

Dick

After reading the comments and watching some of the video from the GOP Presidential Candidate debate, it is clearer than ever that our country is SCREWED!!

There is not one single GOP Candidate that is capable of getting the job done as our next Commander in Chief.  That being said, I have also looked at the Democratic Candidates…Just as bad…if not worse!!

The whole idea that we as a society in America only have two options, Democrat or Republican is purely asinine!! Oh I know, we have a choice Libertarian, Independent, Constitutional, Tea Party…MY ASS!! Those are not even choices. Even if the best candidate ran in one of those parties…Say the perfect person for the job is running as an Independent…they will never get the votes to win. Why?? I will tell you why…Wait for it…Americans are FUCKING IDIOTS!! That’s right, I said it…a bunch of FUCKING IDIOTS!!

There is not one single candidate that has any good ideas. Not one. Most of them have good ideas that satisfy the needs of one group of people or the other. Truly none of them care about you, your family, your job, your life…they care about their MONEY!!  Their POWER!! When we all know that none of them have any true POWER…the corporations and Mass Media outlets own each and every one of them. Why does it cost so much money to run for president in this day of technology? Why do the candidates need to travel to every state and hold meetings and press conferences. With Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Etc.. There is no need for it all. I could run a better campaign with a group of IT nerds and a 100k line of credit. No need to even leave the office. No need for signs on the side of the road, it is all useless..or so it should be.

Look at it this way…I have followed the local elections here in Nampa Idaho over the years I have lived here.  Do you know who wins the elections?? The asshole with the most signs on the side of the road. That is how stupid people are. They go to the voting booth and look at the names on the list and say…Hey, I remember that guys name…CHECK!! They don’t even bother to read or research the candidates. And even if they do, they vote their party line almost exclusively!! Look at me…I am guilty to an extent…I have voted the party line because the only way to keep the people you don’t want in is to choose the lesser of two evils!! We are forced to choose a side, Democrat, Republican, Independent…gotta pick a side or you cant vote!! HAHA…DUMB!!!!!!!!  Oh, I know…you don’t have to register with a party to vote…BULLSHIT…If you don’t pick a party, you cant vote in the primary’s…Catch 22…GOT HEEMMMM!! Yeah, they got us by the balls!!

This may sound harsh, but I am to the point that I believe a couple of things.

First: People on Government Assistance should lose their right to vote for the entire year they received assistance. PERIOD! Once you are off the assistance, the next year your voting rights are restored. OH THAT’S NOT FAIR!!! I don’t care, Life is not fair!! The majority of people that are on Government Assistance are not intelligent enough to be casting a vote. It’s True. Now when I say Government Assistance, I don’t mean Social Security, Disability…thing you have paid for as a working American don’t count. I mean, Welfare, Food Stamps, Medicaid…these are government handouts. So maybe there are a few intelligent people that deserve the right to vote that are on these types of assistance…OH WELL…Work your ass off to get back into life as a productive citizen and earn back your right to vote.

Second: Every single person registering and or voting should have to show Identification! Why is this so difficult? We need identification for just about everything, like buying alcohol and cigarettes, getting cable TV, purchasing a cellphone plan, boarding an airplane, going to the doctor, getting a driver’s license…or a passport…or a Social Security card, qualifying for welfare, entering government buildings and even signing up for Obamacare. I Just don’t get this fight. What, are the Liberals concerned they will lose all of those illegal votes that shouldn’t count anyway…is that it? This is a no brainer!!

Third: People should have to take a basic Government test when registering to vote. You should at least know the High School basics about how our government works before you are allowed to decide the fate of our country. Like this quiz for example. It is difficult, I have not studied this information for many years and I had to leave a few blank…but I passed with a C+ average…good enough to vote I would say. Great American Civics Quiz NO CHEATING!!

Last: Remove the whole party thing.  Why do we need labels? White, Black, Republican, Democrat…how about American. Screw these parties…this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Run for office based on your beliefs and your values. I don’t care about anything else. I should be able to vote for whom ever I want during any election! This is simple…50 people run for president, during the primary election the top 6 with the most votes go on the ballot for president, the winner of that vote wins.  Why is this so hard. When you had an election in school for the class president, did you have to choose only one candidate from a certain group or party…no, all the names went into the hat and people picked their favorite. People say it is to make voting easier, less chaos…screw that idea…with technology today, you can read about every candidate from every party…so why have parties?? I will tell you, it is a way of controlling people. If you are more Conservative you will most likely vote Republican and not even look at the Democratic candidates or vice versa. If they didn’t have parties, we would be forced to listen to what these morons have to say and decide for ourselves! And we all know Government does not like it when people are informed…they want Useful Idiots!

So in closing I say this…nothing will change…Sheepole will continue to vote their party lines. Since our universities are Liberal Factories, the new era of Americans 18-28 will vote Liberal and the Country will continue to drop further into debt. The government will grow bigger than ever, and once we are no longer able to sustain our way of life, we will drop into a DEEP DEPRESSION, the dollar will become useless…the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The middle class will cease to exist and we will all need to learn to speak Chinese. Oh well, Hopefully I will die before it gets this bad…but I doubt it…it is “Coming Soon” to a theater near you!

Dick

I was reading a post on Facebook today from some Liberal rag of a newspaper.  A man wrote in a letter to the editor complaining about how his day was ruined while at the park.  While he was visiting one of the local parks with his family, he noticed a mother with her child playing. The problem he had was the fact that this mother was openly carrying a hand gun on her hip. This upset the man and ruined his day. Nobody was harmed. The gun never left its holster. But for some reason, just the mere sight of a person carrying a gun upset this man so much that his day was RUINED!! Angry, upset, distraught…how can another person be so careless to bring a firearm into a public park.

The comments on the posting for this letter to the editor mostly said the same thing. How irresponsible this woman is. How dare she openly carry a firearm like that. Why is she so afraid for her life that she needs to carry a weapon in a public park,in plain view of other people? And above all with her poor defenseless child by her side. She cant possibly be a responsible gun owner!! If she is so afraid for her life, why would she even venture outside?

This brings up an article I read quite a few years back about Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs. Here is the link to the article, I will copy some snip-its from this article for this blog posting, but I highly recommend reading the entire thing. http://www.killology.com/sheep_dog.htm

The basic premise of this article is about the three different types of people in this world.

Sheep: Most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: A Sheep.

Wolves: The wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath: A Wolf.

Sheepdogs: Live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. If you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens: A Sheepdog

The man who wrote this letter to the editor is a sheep. Most of the people that commented on the letter are sheep. You see, the woman carrying her firearm is a sheepdog, she is prepared to protect those sheep when the wolf growls at the door. Most sheep do not like sheepdogs very much, it reminds them that there is a possibility for violence from a wolf at anytime. Sheep like to live in denial.

Lets change the scenario. Had this woman been a police officer, in uniform, would this mans day have been ruined? I doubt it, he would not have thought twice about a uniformed police officer playing with their child in a public park while armed. Let’s say that this woman is a police officer in plain clothes carrying her sidearm while playing with her child in the park. Had she walked over to this other family and mentioned that she was a police officer, would his day have been ruined? I doubt it. Most sheep look at a person in uniform carrying a sidearm and feel safe. But whats to say that the woman in the park with her child was not highly trained in the use of deadly force and the proper handling of her firearm. They made an assumption because the woman in the park was dressed like a sheep, but armed like a sheepdog!

To me, Sheep are funny, confused, and scared. They will make sure their house has smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher, dead bolts on the doors, alarm systems all for the sake of protecting their families in the home. Did you know that average response time for a 911 call to the fire department is 9-15 minutes! This is why people have fire extinguishers in their homes. There is that chance that you can put out the fire and save your family with that fire extinguisher before the fire department arrives. That same average response time goes for Police Officers (Sheepdogs). What tool do you have to protect your family while you wait for the sheepdog to show up?

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that police officers at all levels of the government have no duty to protect the citizens of this country. It is the job of police officers to uphold the peace, uphold the law, investigate crimes and arrest criminals. People who don’t understand taking responsibility for their own safety often ask why wouldn’t you just call the police to stop a crime instead of drawing a gun. Well for one, a great police response time would be 2-9 minutes, but most crimes take place in a matter of seconds. Most police officers I have met are true Sheepdogs and will do everything in their power to prevent these crimes and protect the people, but that is not their primary job duty.

With all that being said, what if the worst happened that day at the park where this mans whole outing was ruined by the Sheepdog carrying her firearm. What if some pervert was lurking around the park looking to snatch up a child. And what if this Sheepdog spotted that man and confronted him, or even the mere presence of her carrying that gun changed his mind and he decided to try his luck somewhere else. None of those unsuspecting sheep would have even noticed. The sheepdog possibly saved lives just with the visual of her weapon in plain sight. What if she was forced to use that weapon and stop this pervert from snatching up one of those children. Some of those sheep would be grateful, but many of them would be outraged, that is the nature of the sheep. Many of them would not see the fact that the sheepdog saved a life, they would make the sheepdog out to be the criminal…how dare she use that weapon…how careless of her…you could have killed an innocent person!!

There is no way to change the nature of the sheep. They will either understand and accept the fact that they are sheep, or they will continue to live in denial. Unsuspecting and unafraid. They have the knowledge in their head that they can dial 911 any time and a sheepdog will magically appear. Until that day when the sheepdog does not arrive soon enough and the sheep is slaughtered by the wolf. It happens every day in America, sheep are slaughtered by wolves, because there are not enough sheepdogs out there to protect them. They look down at the sheepdog and treat him like a wolf. Many of the sheepdogs know this and carry their weapon concealed as not to frighten the helpless sheep. But many of the people that are capable of being a sheepdog leave their weapon at home and walk out into the world as sheep themselves. This is where I find myself most of the time. I am that unarmed sheepdog walking among the sheep, therefore I am a sheep most of the time.

I find myself being a sheep more often than not, mainly because I am concerned about being burned at the stake by all the other sheep should I do something wrong. I had thoughts about becoming a real sheepdog after I left the Navy. I would have made an excellent police officer and protector of sheep. The problem is, I don’t care enough about the other sheep to be a true sheepdog. I care for my family and loved ones, and I do care for the young, elderly and innocent…the ones not capable of protecting themselves. But I look at the grown adult sheep, the ones with the ability to learn how to protect themselves. The ones that choose to live in the world of rainbows and unicorns; I can’t bring myself to care enough about those people to be a true protector. They have a choice, they all have the ability to see the wolf growling at the door, but they choose not to…they choose to ignore the wolf and criticize the sheepdogs.

So I stay prepared. I practice, I read and I learn. I understand how the wolf acts, how to spot the wolf and how to avoid the wolf. When I feel like I have a likely chance of running into that wolf, I turn on my sheepdog instincts and I carry my weapon. If there were a drastic change in our society, and it becomes more relevant for me to act as a sheepdog, rather than a sheep; I will. But until that day comes, I will keep the sheepdog in the cage as much as possible…blend in with the other sheep and live my life happily. If by some chance I get caught off guard, I hope there is another sheepdog in the flock who came prepared. But I can promise you this, I will never look down on a sheepdog, never call him out as being a wolf. we can sense our own kind and I will thank them every chance I get for having the courage to be the protector of sheep, myself included!

Dick

I am by no means old.  But I do consider myself wise for my age.  Being a child born in the 70’s, I have seen changes to our planet that kids today know nothing about.  Growing up in the midst of the Technology boom has been a roller coaster to say the least.  When I was a young child, they still had 8 track players.  We listened to music on a record player. Wow…record players, music stores, video cassette’s, tape decks. These are all things of the past.  I don’t even own a VCR anymore.  Neither of my cars have tape decks in them.  I don’t even listen to music that is not digital anymore.

With this rate of technology change you would think that the world might become a better place.  Technology is supposed to make everything easier. Even this blog would not get read unless I was able to get it published in a magazine or newspaper as little as 20 years ago.  But when I was a kid, life was easier..because I was a kid!!

What kids these days don’t realize is they are living in the greatest, most stress free time in their pitiful little lives.  You don’t have the stress of bills, work, child rearing, TAXES!!  I recently attended a High School graduation for my Niece.  Man I love that kid to death.  Smart as a whip, strong as an Ox, an amazing athlete with a loving supporting family that would do anything to help her succeed in life.  But I tell you, at that graduation, as I sat there and listened to the speeches that the class president and valedictorian gave…it was like someone was punching me in the face.  It hurt to listen to them talk about the struggle they have gone through to graduate high school.  Give me a break!!  They have no idea what struggle is. They don’t have the first clue what stress is.

I am sure 20 years ago, at my own high school graduation, the same bullshit was probably spewed across that stage.  Oh the struggle!!  I didn’t pay any attention to what they were saying.  I had a big life ahead of me.  I had seen the struggles my parents had as I was growing up.  I was already starting to understand the notion of responsibility and stress.  Christ, I had my first job when I was 13 years old.  I have been filing taxes since I was 15.  And still I barely had a clue what was in store for me in the future. The Struggle…The Stress…LIFE!

I have spent many years of my adult life coaching kids in the one thing that I was sort of good at as a kid myself. Baseball/Softball.  I wouldn’t give back those years of teaching and coaching for anything in the world. I hope that in some way I have made a positive change in the lives of some of the girls and boys I have coached over the years. I tried to be a friend and a mentor to these kids, and to many of them I was a father figure, for they did not have one in there life.

I am one of the lucky ones. Hell I won the lottery…the lottery of life.  I was born a middle class, white male in the United States of America.  I had a Mother and Father that cared deeply for me and sacrificed their lives to make sure I became successful in mine. They still do to this day.  If I could go back in time and change anything about my life during my childhood…I wouldn’t change a DAMN THING!!  Growing up the way I did made me the man I am today.  I am proud to be who I am.  I hope I am doing the same for my kids.  I hope 25 years from now they look back and say the same thing. If they don’t, I wont consider myself a failure…but I will know I gave it my best and tried as hard as I could to raise great kids the way I was raised!

Dick

As promised, I am back with more.  I thought this might become a weekly blog…but I cant help myself.  Too much shit rattling around in this head of mine.  I think I would be better off moving to the mountains and secluding myself from society, but I guess the attention hog inside of me keeps me in the main stream.  Let’s see how long that lasts, I give it 10 more year before I become a hermit!

I think Facebook is the primary cause for all of my hate and discontent.  I should probably just cancel my account and walk away from that nasty cesspool of a web site.  But it is the only way I get to see the people I care about in my life and what they are doing.  So of course I stick with it.  Back on topic please!!

I found this nifty little site while surfing the internet one day.  http://www.usdebtclock.org/.  Wow, there is a lot of information on there.  If you are a fan of horror, check this web site out.  It is probably one of the scariest web sites I have ever seen.  It is a running clock of all of the debt and income in the US.  It also includes some other scary numbers which led me to crawl deeper into the rabbit hole.

Lets start with this number 18,319,809,000,000 that’s 18.3 Trillion.  Big number right?  Now put a Dollar sign in front of that number. Unimaginable right?  That is quite a sum of money, unfortunately for us that is the DEBT of the United States. I actually counted the number of seconds it took the debt to climb compared to how much money I make in an entire year.  7 SECONDS, yep only 7 seconds for the United States debt to climb more than I make in 365 days. Horrifying!!

That was not the only number that really jumped off the page at me.  Down at the bottom right there are some numbers that are just as terrifying.  Total US population receiving benefits.  Now they are only looking at Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps.  That number is an astounding 159.8 MILLION people. that is approximately 49% of the US population.  37% of the Federal Budget in 2015 went to Health Care and Welfare.  While only 4% went to Education.  WTF!!!!

So we have a 5+% unemployment rate in the US.  People are working minimum wage jobs because they do not have a good enough education to get a real job.  So we give them assistance from our tax dollars instead of…Oh I don’t know…EDUCATING THEM!!!  Now you cant blame the people.  People are inherently LAZY!  In most cases lazy and stupid. But that is what we have created as a society.  The US Government is Dr. Frankenstein and we as voters are the lightning bolt, together we have created a monster.

I saw a cute little meme on Facebook the other day.  Makes complete sense, but most people laugh it off as a joke. It goes like this…The food stamp program is administered by the US Department of Agriculture. They proudly report that they have distributed free meals and food stamps to over 46 million people on an Annual Basis.  Meanwhile, the National Park service run by the US Department of Interior asks us “Please DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS.”  Their stated reason being that “The animals will grow dependent on the handouts and will never learn to fend for themselves.”

Hello…Hello…Bueller…HELLO!!  The same thing is happening with Lazy Stupid HUMANS.  Why should they work when they can get shit for free!  It starts at a young age receiving handouts, you covet what you see, you learn from your parents. You see your deadbeat dad sitting at home everyday drinking his Budwiser and knocking up his old lady in hopes to spit out yet another welfare baby to raise his welfare check and food stamp allotment.  The numbers don’t lie.  Since the year 2000 the food stamp and welfare recipients have more than doubled.  There is no sign of stopping.  A new report shows that people in Seattle that make minimum wage (which has recently been increased) are requesting less hours so they can continue to receive food stamps!!

People continue to praise our government…look at what they have done.  Our government is being praised for getting 18 million more Americans on Health Insurance…Yet over 40 million and counting still have none.  And, look what that has done to our already overly taxed and expensive health care system!  In the last 10 years the US debt has more than doubled, Education in the US is the lowest it has ever been.  People are actually getting STUPIDER!  There are more people than ever on Government Welfare. The cost of living is skyrocketing yet the Average American income has not changed.

Our Government is BROKEN.  Our country is BROKE$$$.  We have Millennials voting Liberal, because they have been pushed through the Liberal learning institution. Why, because if you want to make more than the median income you have to go to college right? Corporations these days require you to have a degree to get a good job. That degree costs so much money it takes you 10 years to pay it back. That degree is a useless piece of paper, it says “You spent a lot of money and time to learn nothing worthwhile.  Everything you needed to know in life you could not have learned in grade school, but now you have a piece of paper to prove you are educated.”  BULLSHIT!!  Literally everything you need to know to be successful in life, can be learned in everyday life.  But I will cover our horrible Education System in another topic!

I have not even touched on the topic of corporate welfare, that is another story altogether!  I don’t even know if this blog allows enough characters to get into that shit storm. But for the time being, I will continue to avoid grocery shopping on the 1st of the month, try not to cry when I see welfare recipients driving nicer cars than me, getting their hair and nails done, talking on their iPhone’s and buying Papa Murphy’s pizza and Soda Pop with their EBT cards while hauling around 8 dirty little kids, and continue to tell myself it’s ok…your Government is looking out for you!!

Dick