What I'm Doing Right Now

The whole area of encroaching government on personal and privacy rights has come to the fore again.  I’m not sure where I heard what, but governments can take your property away from you without charging you with a crime or even arresting you.  If you have tinted glass or wearing expensive jewelry or your car has a lot of trash in it- - or if you are too talkative, or too quiet- - all these actions are “suspicious” in this day and age and a cop may detain you- - and a lot worse.   It’s been pointed out that loss of privacy is bad for commerce.  It discourages both creativity and innovation.    Washington’s blog has a whole list of reasons why this new government snooping is bad for commerce.  Also the whole idea of our system of commerce- - interstate or otherwise- - is that our mail system is secure- - and it used to be.  Tampering with the US Mail used to be a federal crime.  But now, of course, the government does it itself, as well as spying out all our activities- - and may I risk things saying ANYTHING about my personal lives.  I know if I’m anything other than squeaky clean- - I could be eves dropped on in a manner I won’t like.  I’ve always figured that my life was far too Boring for the government to bother with anyhow.   Of course this drug testing of vast segments of the population and gathering vast data bases of information on vast segments of the population - - are both highly counter productive and a vast waste of resources.   And this government definitely loves to waste resources, and in this I can’t help but agree with Senator Rand Paul.

Well even a pro Russian blog admits Vladimir Putin has gone too far by persecuting this anti Russian movie maker, or whatever.  So has anything changed in fifty years?  Russia is still a gigantic gulag.  They still crush dissenters just like they do in China and of course in most Islamic countries.  But I would allow "Religion" a little more lattitude than I would Putin, who is an egomaniac and anyone who interferes with the grandios vision he has of himself and Russia- - is going to feel the weight of vengeance coming down really hard.

I watched Jeb Bush give a speech on C-Span.  It was the most warmed over cliché speech you’ve ever heard.  It’s just FOX news in an every slightly more intellectual package.   We are approaching the year of the Sheep.   The topic comes up about- - - Chris Matthews and a lady administration guest he had on the other night.  The point of contention was her saying “We can’t kill our way to eliminating ISIS.  We have killed plenty of them and we will kill lots more.  We’re good at killing.  But we have to think in terms of the root causes of why otherwise promising young people would put down their text books and pick up a gun”    To me this was a very relevant conversation to have, and to be frank, we should have had it before now.  But it unleashed a firestorm on FOX news and on the Sean Hannity program.  You’d think it was the most extreme statement any one had made.   Also I think this battle over whether they are Islamic terrorists- - - or some other kind of terrorist- - - is really hair splitting.   Parenthetically, you don't find many terrorists killing and maiming in the name of Atheism.  The President alledges these terrorists are frauds and not Moslems at all.  I dispute that fact, as long as we have to nit pick.  Because I know if it were Christians blowing up buildings or whatever and waving the Bible around and quoting scripture and saying “Jesus” this and “Jesus" that- - I would definitely be calling them Christians.   In answer to Sean Hannity's point about "identifying your opponent" I agree with his premise.   Some would say "It doesn't matter WHO is delivering the threat to you".   But you and I know that pragmatically WHO is presenting the threat to you affects the prognosis of the outcome and how you will handle it.  Of course FOX news and the right will argue about anything.  Howard Dean called Governor Scott Walker uneducated because he dropped out of college.  Maybe it was Governor Walker’s remark about evolution- - and not being able to go along with it- - and Howard Dean said something like “Maybe he doesn’t believe in evolution because he never studied it in school”.   I wish all of these right wingers would indeed “study” evolution and get the facts, rather than just throw their opinion around willy nilly.  And I would add if you’re going to come down in favor of an intelligent designer- - - you even heve to “study” – and plenty - - to even arrive at that conclusion.  But you know these people.  They aren’t known for what they’re FOR but what they’re against.  In fact if you asked them if they believed in an Intelligent designer if they were taking truth syrum or something they might say “Well- - whoever it is just better not be more intelligent than Me”.   Because when push comes to shove it’s “All About Me” for these people.  They do things to put themselves in the seat of power.

This is Ash Wednesday February 18, 2015, and we had sliced pork for dinner with rice and mixed vegetables.  We had banana pudding for dessert.   I got done early.  I actually woke this morning with the thought “What thing can I do today to honor God” not even knowing what today was.  Then at nine or so they were about to procede with some Catholicf Ash Wednesday ceremony and I actually thought about participating.  I have no problem receiving the sacrament but perhaps they might have a problem with me since I was baptized into another denomination.   Paul Evans and Nancy Bell got the ash mark on the forehead.  It occurred to me that one obvious thing I could to for Lent to honor the Lord would be to quit smoking.  I actually thought about that for an hour or so.  I went to coffee in the courtyard and had two cups.  Then I broke down and went and bought a pack of cigarettes, but then regretted buying them after I’d done it.

I got a second baked apple from Paul.  It was Sean Hannity on till about 12:22 or so because he was making a fool of himself so I switched to Bill Carol.  They still have not found one piece of wreckage from that doomed Flight 73 or whatever from Malaysia from almost a year ago, and that’s a little odd.  It was soap time and Jack Junior is beginning his descent into perdition once more.  He seems to not care.  Melanie actually solicited Nicole’s help, which is an honor to Nicole.  She had to contact someone devious enough.  Hope’s going along with the total cover-up of whatever crimes that took place the night Aden lost his wife - - or the night Aden scored big on the lotterey of life inhereting all his estranged wife's money - - - I regard as strange, and rather unlike Hope, and contrary to the Police instinct that she and Bo had always cultivated and lived by.   The way that Aden went psycho I definitely would have been fearing for my life and wishing I had a firearm or something to defend myself with.  You can’t “forgive” someone who may be lying like a rug even as you console him and tell him everything is all right.   I began putting the clothes away a little before two.  Everything was there.  I got two cups of coffee at coffee break. 

I got in the short Money Draw line and got in to see Tess.  But {name] still didn’t know where my money was and I’m getting an increasingly uncomfortable feeling about that.  Because if I write them another check, once things get back to normal with the computer BOTH checks will be cashed.  This raises the question of why ANY bank would cash a check with insufficient funds knowing that when they did their client would be overdrawn and get dinner for thirty-five dollars, and I just answered my own question.  I got the five dollar bill and grabbed two chocolates and then left.  I bought one pack of John Black cherries.  I then stood in the line to see Dr Saran and I even brought up a chair to sit in.  I wasn’t feverish but actually below normal, and my blood pressure was quite low.  Still I complained of feeling both feverish and with tightness in the chest and coughing spasms, and explained how this cold has dragged on for two weeks and counting already.  Dr Saran wrote out a prescription for both cough medicine and anti biotics, and I hope both arrive expediciously.  The attendant or somebody took the form.  I forgot to ask about the lamisil or drug coverage in general and if the doctor has any theories on why I don’t seem to be as well covered as before.   I then went out and smoked another cigarette.  I got on computer and killed a little time before it was Norman Goldman time.  I listened to that show for the hour.  Dousing my head with water was a rare occurrence today, which means I must be getting better.   We had enchaladas for dinner.  Teresa had some tortillas and gave me one I used to mix the beans and beef mixture next to it, and a little lettuce in with it.  I ate the rest of the lettuce as the vinegar salad intended.  We had one oatmeal and one chocolate chip cookie for desert.  I met with Lishia again, as before dinner.  At that time she gave me a push lighter, and I complained to her about my arthritic thumb.  We went to the room and the computer was still on and we went to facebook.  Lishia explained the whole sag saga to me about her mother and her two daughters and the whole giving gifts thing and that she couldn’t remember what nasty thing she wrote one daughter on facebook.  We never found that - - but I guess that was one of her young granddaughters with big boobs in the pool- - or that was another video?   I wanted to look at more videos and click things but I didn’t want to get off my mission.  Lishia figured the post was deleted.  I asked about logging out, which was for her benefit because it cost me access to her personal account in the future.  But I looked at the regular facebook with stuff on Italy.