I told you so…

But you never listen.

I hardly know where to begin. I will say however, comments are disabled. I don’t want to debate this with anyone. If you voted for this ass clown, you got what you deserved. If you didn’t, we got what we didn’t want. It sure does seem however, that 81 million people (allegedly) are awfully quiet.

First of all, don’t make the mistake of thinking this is simply incompetence. That is a factor, but it’s not the only one. Massive forces are at work within our government to destroy America. That is no longer merely a suspicion, but fact. This empty husk was deliberately placed there because he is of course, incompetent, and malleable within that framework of incompetence, and yes, they KNEW he was cognitively declining, and he has only been getting worse. Perfect opportunity for the destructive minded evil folks working inside the government, the so called Deep State. These people are the products of America hating college professors who have indoctrinated them into the same loathing of America and what it stood for (note the past tense). Ok, probably still stands for, but certainly not within the government by a majority of them. Our schools have become a training ground of hatred disguised within a facade of “progressive” thought. Our miitary is being slowly but surely neutered by these dam evil people, by incorporating ‘wokeness’ into military doctrine. There is only one purpose for the military. To break shit and kill our enemies. Except now our enemies are within the government. The military was never meant to be a platform of social engineering. But it has become just that. Now we have Gen. “Thoroughly Modern Milley”, a woke general (those words make me want to vomit and break things simultaneously) in charge and seemingly only concerned with “white rage” (whatever that might be?) and not with blowing shit up and killing the enemy. When we lose focus on that, and hamstring our troops, we get… what has happened in Afghanistan.

Joemama Biden gave a pathetic and weak presser the other night, HOURS after the event, and weakly tried to lay the blame for it on Trump. Really Joe? Please explain that logic. This is on. you. Completely. Granted, the adults are no longer in charge, there are the children with socialist idealism actually calling the shots in the White House now. VP Kneepads is again, conveniently out of the way, doing…I really don’t know what, but sources inside the administration have confessed that she works hard at keeping away from any work whatsoever. Don’t believe me? As evidence, I point to the bang up job she has done with the ‘immigration’ crisis on our southern border. Nothing. Accomplished. Just biding her time to become president. In point of fact, SCOTUS has reinstated the law of holding people at the border (the Mexico side), and although it’s probably an impossible task, all illegal immigrants found will be arrested and returned to said border to wait it out on that side.

But, I digress. The White House, that is to say, the president and all his underlings actually running the show, have broken faith with the American people, the military who literally and repeatedly put their lives on the line. Those who have paid the ultimate price, as in this past week have done. They have flouted the Constitution, but of course, thats just an old piece of paper to these scumbags. Though they gladly trot it out and call it a ‘living document’ when it suits their agenda. I will say it, loud and proud here. They have committed high treason against the United States of America, but giving aid, comfort, advanced weaponry and ammunition to the enemy. Yet Biden defers to them as if they are the legal government of Afghanistan. People who are actively killing, in the most horrible ways. Afghan citizens who have aided us in the fight, will be killed. Horribly. In ways you cannot imagine. American citizens are about to be ADANDONED (yes, Jen Psnarky) in that country, where they too will be used as political leverage, and then also killed in horrible ways you cannot imagine. Because they are psychopathic bloody minded madmen that you cannot negotiate with. The only thing that can be done with these assholes is to kill them.

There WAS an agreement in place with them, not coincidentally, altered by the current occupant of the Oval (because OrangeManBad [tm]) that would have allowed everyone to get out safely, ahead of the military, from a secure airport that Biden abandoned WAY too soon. But he gave that decision to the State Department. Diplomats. Not military experts. Because they’ll continue to agree with us, right? So, because they are in charge, and the military has to follow orders, this is what has happened.

Which brings me to my next point. Why has NO ONE in the upper reaches of command stood up to expose this folly? Because they have placed career minded cowards in charge of the military. There was a competent Lt. Col. of Marines who put his rank, career and future financial standing on the line to call them out, which he did. These cowards have relieved him of command and rest assured, he will be forced out. THAT my friends, is true courage, because he knew this would happen. That is the sort of courage demonstrated by the founding fathers of this country. But even then, it was only a small minority of people who stood up to an insane and tyrannical inbred king of England.

Joe Biden, because the Chinese have paid him millions of dollars through his crack smoking hooker screwing son, is completely and totally compromised. This is also fact, but not reported by the news media who continues to prop up this empty suit. The man can barely even read a teleprompter, and has to refer to note cards of various subjects to form even a half assed reply. Constantly is referring to being ‘instructed’ to only call on certain journalists. Instructed? By whom? If you think he is actually in charge, you are ignoring the obvious.

Are we in too deep and too late? I don’t know. It remains to be seen. I can guarantee that things will most likely get worse. I pray that I am wrong. It is time to stand together as Americans, and not let the media, the politicians, and the Deep State bureaucracy divide us. There are some who cannot break away from the programming. Well, they’re hopeless so don’t bother. In my experience, there are still a majority of Americans who still hold our values dear. Find them, and encourage them to remain steadfast.

Meanwhile, POTUS Joe Biden, this is all I have to say to you.

Well…it’s been awhile.

Much water under the bridge. Many times I’ve thought, I really need to start blogging again, and also… and also…

So here we are again. The fuzzy creature pictured above has come into my life this past year of Covid BS and lies. Made it bearable. She is really a genius dog, which makes me work hard to keep at least one step ahead. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ll be doing more of this, but for now, it’s nice to be back. Jackie Blue the Tactical Heeler also says hello people. She loves people. Everyone. It’s a good way to be.

Clearing the decks…

DON'T PANIC iPad Wallpaper

I tend to look at the events of my life in a rather philosophical manner.  Yeah, I’m one of ‘those’ people.  Things happen for a reason, and no, not just because I make stupid or bad decisions, though I am, as we all are, guilty of that from time to time.  I am someone who believes in a higher power, and that this higher power, if we let it, will guide us through our lives if we just…get the hell out of its way.  Not to say I believe in fate, or why should we even get out of bed in the morning, right?

2016, and to a large extent, 2015 has been a giant shit show, not just overall but personally.  Now that isn’t to say it’s been a total loss either, as I have so many things to be grateful for, even for all of the crap that’s happened.  I had a relationship go terminally south and sideways all at the same time.  I had a dear friend become ill with cancer who was dying, only to turn around and go into remission ‘spontaneously’ (there’s a reason for the quotes, but that’s another story all together), I had some issues from my past come back like a steam roller, which due to the nature of them, I cannot and will not go into just yet.  Negotiations there are somewhat delicate so we’ll just leave that alone for now.  Recently, employment changes and an employer who I had been thoroughly enjoying working for, suddenly becoming…less than honest in their dealings with me.   I guess I may find out about that later if I am patient and just leave it alone for now.  I usually do.

The relationship thing…well, like I said, I usually find out the truth of a thing down the road once I let a thing go long enough.  Apparently this past Thursday was the day to find out about that.  We all know what it’s like to be blindsided, but this was unexpected and when you find out you’ve been lied to and betrayed at a very deep and personal level…let’s just say I reacted in a very primal way.  I have since deleted the Facebook post.  Probably for the best.  At the same time, I am starting a new job.  “They” consider these things stressors, and in this case I agree.  I enjoy(ed) my previous job very much, and the circumstances surrounding my involuntary departure (no I wasn’t fired…but it’s complicated) are upsetting and not nice.  To be very blunt, going back to the EMS world wasn’t my first choice.  There are a number of fly by night operators in the area where I live and choosing the right one was sort of like throwing a dart at a board, given my lack of knowledge but I aftera bit of research, I think I got very lucky (Thank you Ryan!) in landing where I did.

I’m feeling a bit twitchy on an emotional level as a result of all of this, but at the same time, I feel like I am clearing the decks, so to speak.  I think maybe it’s time to stop wandering the world and be home for a while, and live a somewhat normal life.  I don’t know where that’s going to lead me, but as my friend Clint asked me, am I at peace with this, and the answer is yes, I am.  It seems to be the right thing right now.  I go with that ‘gut feeling’ on a lot of things and it’s always led me into the right path in life.  Sometimes life hands you the things you need, versus the things you want.

Some of this sort of points to the thing I mentioned that I said I can’t mention…so to speak.  I’ve been getting the feeling that this is getting closer to some kind of resolution, one way or another.  I don’t know which way it’s going to end up.  I know which way I’d like it to end up, but that’s out of my hands.  Time will tell.  But, if all of this clearing of the decks is happening for the reasons I think it is, then perhaps it is heading in the way that I hope it will.

So what’s my point?  Shit happens.  It’s often for reasons we can’t always comprehend while it’s happening, and it often seems unfair, or it seems as if the universe is kicking the crap out of us while we’re down.  I think we need to look deeper than that if we feel that way because sometimes life is handing us valuable lessons, if we can make ourselves open to them.  Hard lessons are the most valuable.  Yes, they make us feel like shit, but those are the lessons that stick.  Complacency kills.  A sword is sharpened when it is rubbed against a stone.  There are some challenges ahead that frankly I think are necessary, and so…forward and onward and eyes open.  Now excuse me while I dust myself off here and pick the gravel out of my teeth…

 

I told you so…

I’m angry.  Like really angry.  Enough to drop F bombs, and not to care.  I don’t care if you don’t like it, and I don’t care if it offends the sensibilities of those who this is aimed at either, because amongst the F bombs I amjonasthornqvist_hulk_2 going to drop some fucking Truth bombs.  Those are the things that some of you seem to cringe at the most.  Because you place your trust in politicians who continue to lie to you and you can’t see through it, because they say they are fighting for YOU!  Let me start with the first Truth Bomb.  They don’t give a flying fuck about you.  What they do give a flying fuck about is getting, and maintaining their positions of power.  They will solicit donations of millions upon millions of dollars of Other Peoples Money (even though they are filthy rich themselves) to brainwa…er, convince you that they are fighting for your best interests, which of course is a load of horseshit.

I have been personally vilified by the left (as have many other gay conservatives, and yes there are many more of us), but not nearly as much by the vicious queens of the gay left when they find out this little fact.  They will accuse us of self loathing, being closeted (I am not, obviously), being mentally deficient, mentally ill, and nearly anything else their twisted minds can come up with.  Not to say that conservatives aren’t capable of the same vileness because they are.  Particularly those of the more fundamental religious bent.  I particularly  love it when they call it a ‘lifestyle choice’…when for almost 30 years, I gave it my level best to try to not be gay.  Then their little craniums explode when I ask them when they chose to be straight.  But, craniums explode on both sides of the political spectrum when they find out about this which is entertaining at times, frustrating at others.

What I am specifically angry about is the shooting in Orlando at the gay nightclub.  Not because I am gay (which I am), and not specifically because it was at the hands of an Islamic radical (which it was, and yes I am angry about that too).  What am I angry about, specifically you ask?  Glad you asked.

I have endeavored to make leftists in general comprehend the hatred that the muslim extremists have for those of us in the west, and especially the gay leftists (which of course is an oxymoron).  They reflexively counter with the argument that not all muslims are ‘that way’.  Yes, I know this.  Why would I include them in this conversation?  I have a muslim friend who isn’t insane and so why would I include him in a conversation about the insane ones.  Moving on…  I’m talking about the extremists of course you dolts.  Stop defending them generically and lets talk about the ones who will kill you at the drop of a hat, who will throw you off a building or behead you for being gay.  Enter the denial, the vilification, the accusations of racism (even though Islam isn’t a race, nor is it hardly even a religion), what an ignorant conservative moron I must be to say such a thing then end the ‘discussion’ with a venomously delivered “Namaste” as if it actually meant “Fuck You”.  Don’t laugh, it actually happened to me once.  Well then, I guess I better not tell them I am a concealed handgun permit owner and carrier.  Oh wait, I did, didn’t I?  Yes, well, that makes ME a terrorist doesn’t it?  I guess their legendary Tolerance only extends so far.

Invariably, when I have these conversations with anti-gun progressives, the conversation turns to how THEY could never own a gun because THEY are afraid they would shoot someone in a fit of anger.  Therefore, no one else should own a gun, right?  Well, dear fragile emotional little progressive snowflake, just because you don’t trust yourself with a firearm, doesn’t mean everyone else out there is ready to go on a mass shooting at the snap of a shoelace.  Personally, I’ve never been tempted, it’s never even entered my mind to solve a problem that way, even though, to a progressives mind and standards, I’ve had plenty of reasons to do so.  To my mind and morals and to every other responsible gun owner, none of those things can justify the taking of a human life.  The only thing that can, would be to defend my life, or that of another innocent life.  It’s a curious paradox that a person of a ‘progressive’ bent would do so over a petty argument, and yet not to defend themselves or another.

What does this have to do with the shooting in Orlando?  Glad you asked.  Mind you, I am deeply saddened by the loss of life.  I am sad for the families of those killed.  I am, however, finding it hard to find sympathy for my gay ‘brethren’, who if they knew what I have revealed to you dear reader, would line up to parrot the others in their derision of me like a bunch of school marms.   Yet, if I had been there last night, with my concealed handgun, and defended myself and subsequently, them, to stand behind me and cower, and MAYBE even thank me, grudgingly, for saving their sorry asses because they didn’t have the courage to get the training to get their own concealed handgun permit so that they could defend their own lives should such a thing happen to them.

Am I bitter?  Maybe a little.  Maybe a lot.  I am angry and I believe I am justifiably so.  I can’t tell you how many times I have told these same people that this would happen to them (meaning in the generic sense) one day, and that they might wish one of ‘us’ might be there, armed and ready.  Gay people are already a target, and even more so now with the influx of so many ‘peace loving’ muslims whom the government has admitted they cannot possibly vet.  But they cling to the notion that the government, the police, will protect them because laws.  How did those laws work out for you this early morning in Florida folks?  Do I sound callous?  Well, I sort of hope so.  I hope I’m pissing people off.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I am.  But they already were pissed off at me so I really don’t fucking care if they are more pissed off.  They really need to be pissed off at a government and politicians  that are seeking to infringe more and more, daily on our right to protect ourselves.

This is why I do not support the left, or even the conservatives, and why I do not support gay causes.  At all.  They, specifically the gay community, have done exactly nothing to support me.  They have crucified me publicly for daring to speak up about what I believe.  Their legendary Tolerance only extends to other Progressive weakling dependency monkeys.  So Fuck You Very Much.  Don’t expect me to support you, or defend you.  Not until you show me that you are willing to learn to defend yourselves and stop depending on a government that doesn’t give a wet shit about you.  As William F. Buckley once said, “Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”

If I’m getting through to some of you, then good.  If the thought of getting into a concealed handgun certification class is intimidating (and it is to many people, gay and straight) then here is a link to Pink Pistols, a gay friendly organization with chapters across the country who can help you get certified in a friendly environment.  I also know people here in Colorado who can do so, not part of this organization but I can guarantee they are gay friendly because they are friends of mine.  Leave me a comment with an email and I will put you in touch with them.

I leave you with this little nugget to ponder for the month of June, nationwide.  As well as my own parting shot.  I fucking told you so.

Watch this space…

Work flowI was just reading my last entry. A year goes by very quickly doesn’t it? I had hoped to be more productive here, but well, life happens.  Anyway, I was watching that same X -Files episode mentioned in my last post.  Something about it really pulls at my head.

It’s been another year of ‘interesting times’, to use the old Irish curse. Not that it’s been bad, just interesting. Lessons being learned, it seems that a lot of my life is passing through a transition into…something else. I don’t really have it all fully formed in my head just yet, so this won’t be very deep, meaningful or has it ever really?

The relationship I mentioned, well…for next time perhaps. Suffice to say it was a painful episode and I’ve spent the past year licking my wounds.

Some other things popped up in the middle of that, and well…more on that later. Maybe. As I say, this is probably nothing more than half formed ideas, but I feel like I’m on the verge of some new understanding. I have a mission on the near horizon to accomplish, and just maybe that will clarify some things in my mind. At least I hope so. You dear readers, will most likely know if it does.

So, for now, this is just a placeholder. Sorry it’s so short, but it is what it is.  Writing is also pulling at my head again, but ironically I don’t really have that much to say, at the moment anyway.

This is more like the germ of the seed of an idea that is just now being thought about being planted and I’m wondering where the hell it’s going to get the best sunlight.  Or something like that.

Everything happens for a reason…

“Time passes in moments.  Moments, which rushing past, define the path of a life, just as surely as they lead towards its end.  How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen.  To consider whether the path we take in life is our own making, or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed?   But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes?  Might we see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life?  And seeing those choices…choose another path.” – Dana Scully… (All Things, X-Files, Season 7)

I’ll admit it, I’m an X-Files fan.  Not strictly because it’s kind of an entertaining monologue about aliens, and government conspiracies (honestly, the gov’t is too inept to be that clever, individual people on the other hand…) and monsters and paranormal stuff.

Once in a while though, the show got kind of introspective and philosophical.  This particular episode is near the end of the 7th season, and one of the main characters (Dana Scully, an FBI agent) is having a moment of frustration with her relentlessly curious partner.  One thing leads to another, and she finds herself confronted with an episode from her past that she’d long ago buried.  A rather painful episode, a mistake, if you will.  Or was it?  She begins a rather introspective look at the events that led up to that episode in her life, the consequences of it, and the choices she’s made since then, and where they have led her.  It culminates in a rather intense spiritual experience (all the more remarkable since she is a very ‘skeptical about such things’ scientist) that leads to a reconciliation, redemption, and letting go of pain that was, unbeknownst to her until that moment, weighing her down.

This particular episode has become a favorite of mine, the writing was quite good, and some great imagery and background music sort of just flowed with the story and made it all come together, at least in my fevered brain.

I think the writers must have been reading some of the teachings of Buddha, where he discusses the nature of Suffering, and how we must act and think to divest ourselves of it.  Or they were smoking some really good weed.

Seriously though, I can’t overemphasize the value in letting go of ‘things’, or our attachment to things.  Whether that thing is an actual thing, a concept, a person, a location, a job, paradigms, or a favorite pair of jeans that lets in more daylight than is legally allowed.

So many friends and acquaintances of mine are going through some really difficult challenges lately, it seems.  We all do from time to time.  A point brought out in the show, was that when an event comes to us, of major proportions, it may be a sign to slow down and think things through.  Why is this happening?  What is the lesson here for me, or even for all parties involved?

You see, I believe with all my heart and mind, as the title of this blog suggests, that everything happens for a reason.  We may not always see that reason, and maybe can’t see it until much later.  If ever.

We all, each of us, so easily get stuck in ruts of behavior from doing the same thing all the time and expecting different results.  Or perhaps we don’t perceive that what we are doing is repetitive and not moving us forward?

I spent many years living in a denial of my self, or shall I say, of my true nature.  Those of you who know me may think you know what I am referring to, but no, it goes beyond that too.  Living that particular lie about myself was merely the cover of the pressure cooker that was my life.  We all know what happens (or we imagine we do!) if we suddenly remove the lid from a pressure cooker.  Well, I did that, and although it was a relief, a lot of things boiled over as well.  A lot of things best let go of.  It happened eventually.  But when one is faced with having to rebuild and reinvent oneself, it’s a bit daunting.

Circumstances often either lead us…or force us, into changing something about ourselves.  Personally, I prefer the former over the latter.  Having a sublime Dana Scully moment is much preferable to having our pretenses stripped away by force.  It’s somewhat akin to those dreams we have where we are walking around naked.  But maybe that’s what those dreams are actually about?  You know the ones, where no one seems to notice that we are buck ass naked but us, but maybe it’s really because we’re afraid that people will see that which we are trying to hide in our waking lives?  I can tell you that once you embrace (or perhaps better said…to accept those things), and learn to not be ashamed of them, it’s very liberating.

Some of you who know me, may also remember a period of time where, shall we say, I was not at my best.  That pressure cooker analogy again.  The heat was building and the pressure was rising.  My inner conflicts became my outer jackass.  Yes, at one time I lived in a state of shame and embarrassment over these things.   My volatility was no fun to be around.  Ask me I know, because I also had to live with it.

Well, this wasn’t meant to be a confessional, or an apology even.  But for those of you I was a jackass to, I really do sincerely apologize.

You see, the process of letting go, of forgiveness, including yourself, is just that, a process.  One that is definitely worth undertaking.  I never said it was going to be easy either.

Which leads me really, to where I think I was going with all of this.  Gratitude.  A friend was telling me about this many years ago, and though I wasn’t really prepared then to accept what she was saying, I never forgot it.  Gratitude: a feeling of appreciation or thanks. (Merriam-Webster).

Whether you are a spiritual person, or not, being grateful, expressing gratitude, seems to leave a void in our lives which then seems to get filled with…for lack of a better word, good stuff.  Through no effort of my own, one day I found myself in this state of feeling…grateful, to no one in particular or to a beneficent Universe, for so many cool things in my life.  For a long time, I’d cut myself off from this, awareness shall we say?  Constantly struggling to do better, seemingly getting nowhere.   For whatever reason, things changed when I found myself in this state of mind.

The ‘good stuff’ just sort of keeps happening.  For which I am of course, even more grateful.  I encourage you to try this.  I personally feel that too many of us are incredibly spoiled individuals.  We complain about a myriad of things that have no real importance.   We live in a miraculous age!  We carry internet devices in our pockets, we fly through the air in modern machines with no more thought than putting on a jacket.  We have an abundance of basic needs filled FOR US by people we think of as invisible every day.  We should be grateful to them as well!

Thanks for reading.  I’m actually grateful if you do that.  Try to practice this in your life.  After all, what could it hurt?

The sleeping giant…

“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”  Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto

The quote provided above is widely used, but as it turns out, it is most likely apocryphal as there is no proof, written or otherwise, that he actually said it.

Having said that, he is right.  Americans have historically put up with a lot before we push back.  But if you bring the fight to us, we’re going to give you the fight you’re looking for.  We love our freedoms, we love the idea of sharing that freedom with others, but not at the expense of our own.

Social media and the blogosphere are full of statements and ideas that at worst, we are no longer that nation, and at best, we are in danger of losing the freedoms that we still have.  Those of you who know me from social media know where I stand on these and other issues.  I am not going to talk about that here.

Today is the anniversary of 9/11…and to many others, the anniversary of Benghazi, which not coincidentally, happened on the same day in 2012.  A few things have happened recently which has prompted me to write on my blog again.  A landmark and history making recall election has been successfully undertaken in Colorado.  Two state senators, one of them the president of the Colorado senate, have been successfully recalled by voters in their respective districts.  I say history making, because it’s never happened before in Colorado.  That alone should tell you something.  The aforementioned senate president consistently turned a deaf ear to his constituents, as well as the residents of the state, which as president he also represents.  Or did.  Not only that, he encouraged his colleagues in the senate to ignore emails, phone calls and letters from their respective constituents.  He considered the people who wrote them “vile and disgusting”, and slanderously accused those who were working toward his recall of being “criminals, and sexual predators” with no basis in fact to do so.  His accusations of outside interests were also fascinating, given the fact that he was accepting money from none other than Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York to defend his office.  $350,000 to be specific.  Meanwhile he accused the NRA of supporting and initiating this recall drive.  Well, the NRA DID get involved, after it became obvious that outside money was coming in for his recall defense.  The NRA sent about $100,000, but this was mostly in the form of legal assistance and PR work.

The folks who started the recall drive were ordinary citizens, like you and me.  People who had gotten fed up and decided to do something about it.  Those people attracted like minded other people just like you and me and organized.  Despite a lot of dirty trickery by Morse and his minions, he was successfully recalled.  Angela Giron, from Pueblo, CO was also successfully recalled by an even larger margin for much of the same behavior exhibited by John Morse.

There was much talk by the opposition and sympathetic newspapers and other media that it was about gun laws passed by the Colorado legislature.  Yes, and no.  That was only one of several issues.  Primarily it was about the imperial attitudes of the aforementioned legislators, the changing of rules to suppress any opposition to their agenda from speaking out at the capitol building in Denver.  Gun legislation was passed that will have zero net effect on crime.  In fact, the Colorado Sherriff’s Association nearly unanimously issued a statement that they would not only NOT enforce these laws, but have filed a lawsuit to repeal them.  The only dissenting counties were Arapahoe and predictably, Denver county.  These onerous laws resulted in Magpul deciding to pull out of the state, taking millions in revenue and several hundred jobs with them.  Strong work there John.  Something tells me that isn’t in the best interest of the state.

In other events, outside of Colorado, a large coalition of bikers has decided to protest the Million Muslim March, by staging a run to Washington DC.  The MMM was granted a permit by the Park Service for this event.  The bikers were however, denied.  The MMM is a protest by muslims in America to be granted extra rights for all kinds of free stuff that they feel they are entitled to because…well, they’re special.  The bikers, taking exception to this, have decided that enough is enough.  Despite not having a permit, they’ve decided to go anyway, which only means they won’t get a police escort to run traffic lights, so about a million folks on Harley’s will be riding a route predetermined by their organizers and obeying traffic laws.  Can you imagine the sound of a million Harley Davidsons for blocks on end?  I call that the sound of freedom.

Additionally, the bikers have been invited to share in a rally by another group who does have a permit, so they will be able to gather near the capitol for that little soiree.  Lovely.

 The point of all this…America is finally showing some signs of ‘we’ve had enough’.  A million bikers descending on the District of Corruption is a pretty good start I’d say.  An historic ‘never-happened-before’ recall in Colorado is yet another.

Just because a particular party is in power doesn’t mean they can ignore the other opposing side of the citizenry.  A fact that the current pack of liars is finding out.

Peaceful revolt.  You’ve got to love it.  Yes, it’s a longer road.  Yes, it’s probably a lot more frustrating in the long run.  The system works, as long as you USE IT!  So much complacency has crept in within the United States.  The attitude of “they won’t listen anyway so what’s the point?”.  The “what can we do?” has to be replaced with electing different people.  One might argue that they thought they were doing that when Obama was elected.  Hope and change and all that.  I was never fooled by it.  Despite all his claims of ‘fundamentally changing’ our country (which make no mistake, he is trying very hard to do), he’s more of the same old tired socialist arguments.  It’s never worked before and it’s not going to work now.

We seem to go through these periods every few years, swinging from one side of the political spectrum to the other.  Anyone remember Jimmy Carter?  By remember, I mean, does anyone remember the malaise that swept the country when he was in office?  Double digit inflation?  Double digit unemployment?  Same thing now, except they’re fudging the numbers to make it look better.  It’s probably much worse in reality.

You hear rumblings on the social media about revolt…meaning armed revolt.  Honestly, I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that.  While there is no one left alive to remember the US Civil War, just read the history books, or at least the ones that haven’t been revised.  It was an incredibly destructive period in our history that probably derailed many years of progress in our country and divided a people against themselves.  I don’t recommend it.  There are plenty of other examples of how bad of an idea it is in our present time.

The Constitution gives We the People broad powers to restrict government, provided we USE them.  Government has managed to circumvent a lot of them to the point where people are beginning to get…well, really pissed off.  We must hold our government officials to the standard of law.  We have to start electing people who are equally committed to the idea of the rule of the Law of the Land.  It’s still a good idea folks, despite what the many detractors of the Constitution will try to tell you.

We made it work in Colorado.  The price of it, is that we have to get involved.  We have to step away from Facebook occasionally, or Honey Boo Boo, or whatever other mindless drivel you’re personally addicted to.  In any case, set your DVR to watch it later, but get up and do something, because it won’t change unless We the People make it happen.  It’s our country, and it’s our government.  Those clowns work for US!  If you owned a business and had people like that working for you, why would you keep them?  The business of running our country requires people committed to the rule of Law, not tired old flip flopping Senators who’d rather play poker on their iPhone than pay attention in a committee room while there is talk of starting war.

If your state doesn’t allow recall elections to happen, then you should be trying to change that.  The other side whined and complained about it costing so much (yet they didn’t volunteer to donate the outside funds they were receiving to offset that cost now…did they?) and about how disruptive it was.  Really?  As opposed to the millions of dollars of lost revenue your shenanigans are costing the state?  In any case, a recall has never happened in the history of Colorado.  Not once.  Until yesterday that is.

It’s stuff like this happening that keeps my faith in my country and in its people.  Together, we can do a lot more than one of us.

And when you gaze long into an abyss…

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you. –Friedrich Nietzsche

I was motivated to write this post because of something a friend of mine posted on the hell that Zuckerberg created.  That’s a subject for a post in itself, but I digress…

Said friend was ‘unfriended’ by a friend of his over political differences.  My friend made a comment that he was getting tired of his negativity anyway, but was trying to ‘understand’ his motivations.  While I generally support the idea, as it does tend to help us get along better, usually, it also led me to ponder the Nietzshe quote as above.

It seems to me, that the political process in our country has gotten out of control.  This isn’t meant to generate any “Ya think?” comments, rather I am leading up to something.  This isn’t meant to be a political rant, per se, rather an observation of the process and its effects.

Politics, in my recollection used to be more civil, at least the discussions between normal people.  Between politicians, it’s as nasty as it’s always been.  There were times, back in the day, that fist fights erupted on the floor of the House/Senate.  It hasn’t improved all that much, it’s just a lot more verbally nasty now.

Sadly, we as a people have gotten caught up in this as if we really have a personal stake in the outcome.  The reality is, not much will change.  Enter (anti)social media, and the concept of safety and anonymity behind a keyboard.  Keyboard warriors, or as I call it, “Facebook behavior” has allowed the self isolated disseminators of chaos (DOC’s) that are usually shunned by local communities to have a much wider audience.  To the dismay of us all.  Yet, I believe that no matter how much we try to ignore them (the Ignore/Block button IS your friend, not said DOC’s, even if he has “Friended”  you), their words and actions do have a cumulative effect.  They post something offensive, we try to reason with them, correct their behavior, it turns into a s***t storm, and everyone looks bad.  We’ve allowed the abyss to stare back into our very consciousness and express itself through us (I can’t come to bed honey, someone is WRONG on the internet!).  That one never gets old. 🙂

I certainly don’t put myself above this, as I’ve allowed myself to get caught up in it also.  To my great regret.  I do try, very very hard, to not engage.  I am not afraid of the Hide/Block button, and I use it liberally rather than get sucked into the maelstrom.  No good will come of it otherwise.

But to come to the point of this, I think it’s important to remember who we are, rather than which candidate we think is prettier.  I’ve worked hard at surrounding myself with good people, supportive friends and acquaintances.  I’ve had to cull some of my social networking lists when such behavior appears, but I do so without rancor.  I just don’t have time for it, and I don’t wish to hear the abyss screaming obscenities in my ear, telling me how wrong I am, what kind of smartphone I should own to avoid being an asshole…etc.  I prefer the still small quiet within.

I just want to do the things that make me happy, and live my life in the best way I can.  I share those things here, hoping that they will bring some measure of happiness to you as well.

Rise above, and stay in the light my friends

The power of persistence

Well, this blog is about photography isn’t it?  Also about life, the universe, everything, 42…

I wanted to post this image as a reminder that persistence pays off.  I’ve grown rather fond of the many hawks and raptors that we have in Colorado.  I love shooting them, even though they can be fiendishly difficult to capture. (Dam you kestrels!)  I haven’t been out to where they live much lately, and they’ve grown wary of my presence…again.  Nothing like hauling out a camera with a huge lens attached only to see them fly away.  Of course, their eyesight is amazing, and I can only imagine what that lens must do to them when they see it.  I managed to get pretty close to this young redtailed hawk before he got nervous enough to fly away.  But apparently not nervous enough to fly right past me.  Fortunately, I’ve gotten used to this lens and am learning to pan effectively with it, and I finally have the settings on the camera dialed in that I was able to pan, autofocus and grab a few nicely focused images of this one in flight.  It’s a big beast of metal and glass, and yet strangely manageable.  With practice.

I didn’t want to keep pursuing him as he was hunting for dinner, and I didn’t want him to have to abandon the prime hunting site that he had staked out.  It’s a field full of prairie dogs, that I fondly call the hawk buffet.  Must be pretty easy pickings for them because I see them along this area frequently.  All those fat little snacks on four legs for them out there.  Yummm…..  At any rate, I was pretty happy with the few good shots I got that didn’t include power poles and power lines in the image, so I called it a day.  Mission accomplished.

Photography is like that sometimes.  We don’t always get the shot we want, or have set out to grab.  Remember to look behind  you.  Sometimes there is something there that we didn’t expect that might be way better that what we set out to find.  In this case, I got what I was after.  However, we should stay flexible, because there is always something else out there to capture in that frozen moment of time that becomes a photograph.  That’s one of the many reasons I love photography.  I count myself lucky to live in the photographers paradise called Colorado.

Life can be like that too (Ha, told you this blog was about life).  Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we want, but it almost always works out the way it’s supposed to.  Like photography, we have to be open to other options, other opportunities that we had not previously considered.  Yea, I know, it sounds like the old saying about one door closing but another window opening.  Sometimes we do have to crawl in through the window, but when we do, we find a treasure of opportunities that we didn’t consider previously  (Wait, did I just use the ‘window of opportunity’ as a metaphor without thinking of it?  I think I did…).

Well.  42 it is.  Keep  your head on a swivel.  Life is just like that sometimes.  I’ve been feeling like a window is about to open in my life.  I have no idea what it is, or where it will be, but I’m trying like hell not to miss it.

The definition of insanity…

Well, I did it.  I moved my old blog over here to WordPress, and glad I did.  I felt it was time for a change and a different approach to blogging, for me at least.  In other words, time to stop doing the same thing over and over.  Who knows what will come of it, but I have some projects in the works, and some of the blogs may or may not be related to them.  But as the tag line says, I may post about things I even understand.  No matter what happens, I plan to do something here weekly, even if it’s just to say hi.

I have just imported all my posts from Blogger over here, in case you are afraid you missed anything.  My apologies for the mixed up fonts, I can only hope that time will sort this out as I’ve selected fonts in this template.