Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The United States Military has gone through lots of changes over the years. The changes have not only been in the uniforms, all wool through the First World War. The Second World War there were changes to the uniforms and today the changes are even more noticeable and the uniforms are much more comfortable  than even the ones of 60 years ago. The one thing that has not changed is the job of the soldier.

  At this moment everyone is saying if you are a soldier then that is your job, but it is one of many jobs you are tasked with and few understand that. Whether that soldier is stationed at a Post here in the US or he is at  base in a foreign country his first job is always the same, diplomat. He or she needs to be doing all they can be to make a good impression on those that they come in contract with. 

  We all appreciate good neighbors and it is nice to have helpful people next door, not the guy that tests his hot rod at midnight or decides that everyone in the area would enjoy listening to a ball game just because he would.

  Our military personnel around the world have more contact with the citizens of other nations than any other group of people. Their actions and the way they conduct themselves are a reflection of our nation, it is what others see to determine who we are. So they need to be on their best behavior and they need to be diplomats. If they get into trouble military members do not get diplomatic privilege. If they are involved in a serious crime they can serve time in foreign prisons and sometimes that is good sometimes it is not.

  In Germany they do not have a death penalty so even if someone is involved in a murder they will not end up being executed. In Korea they can end up having to help grow the crops that feed them while in jail but it is still better than being executed.

  Having to learn the language is a bonus but having to do that under extreme stress cannot be all that much fun. 

  Not everyone of our citizens that visits other countries makes an effort to put their best foot forward. Diplomacy was a very big thing when our country first got started and once we had established ourselves and formed friendly relations with certain nations it was in our best interest to keep those connections alive and well. 

  One of the sources of connection has been the strength of the US dollar and its use in the world market. At the present time it seems to be in decline as Russia and China have made a pact to stop trading in dollars and use their own currency and other nations are getting on the train with them. Are we going to the digital dollar? Wish I knew. Will this trend last and again if enough of the worlds more wealthy nations make that play then that is where we will be. 

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

  We have really strange situations in the world of careers. Some careers come with training that ends with a job title that says you have arrived such as mechanic, black smith, engineer, painter, hvac tech, cab driver, trucker, and famer. At least two leave a bit of room for doubt as to whether the person has really acquired the necessary skills or not, Practicing Physician and Practicing Lawyer.

  What sets the last two apart are the size of the fees they charge while they practice their respective skills. These occupations come with some different requirements/abilities. With the doctor they go through a training period that requires them to be on duty for 24 hours or longer without sleep. Since they could be making decisions on a life and death level, doing so when you are extremely tired does not seem to be the best option for the patient. .Are mistakes made, at what level of significance, and what is done about them?

  The other practicing career is a lawyer and even though they don’t have to work a 24 hour shift they seem to be able to encourage clients and witnesses to be less than truthful on the witness stand. The idea is that if you are not asked a specific question do not provide any additional information. Depending on your side of the fence in a situation like that the plot may be welcome or totally devastating.

  At some point we have all dealt with someone that we were sure did not have a clue as to what they were doing, or why they were doing it. 

  Women taking a car to be serviced or repaired are more likely to be ripped off than get the work done because most maintenance shops do not believe women know anything about what they need to have done. When they run into one that does it usually turns out badly for the shop owner and staff.

  I had a major garage try to tell me an air filter needed replacing and they showed me a very dirty air filter. It did not fit my car but that did not stop the try, it did not get them anywhere but they did attempt. 

  All kinds of stories abound concerning different people in various jobs trying to get others to believe something for no other reason than to see if you will.  Sometimes events will cause odd things to take place. Once I witnessed a car fail to stop at a stop sign and it hit a car on a main road that had the right of way. The Police were called and the officer that was in charge was someone fairly new to our town and I did not know him. Statements were asked for and when he came back around to collect those statements he asked myself and the other person that was with me where we were when we witnessed the accident. We said we were standing inside the gas station office and had witnessed the event through floor to ceiling plate glass windows. He said our statements were not admissible because we were behind the windows. The guy that ran the stop sign was a city councilman. What do you think? If being behind glass makes your view invalid then you cannot witness a car wreck even if you are the next car there. 

  How often are we not heard when the person we may have something to say against is from the part of society that has the money, and how often are we to blame if we happen to wear the uniform of the organization that caused someone else harm even if we were not around when that event  occurred.

  No matter what the career doing the best one can do should be the objective whether it is preparing a meal or flying a plane, no one wants to find feathers where they don’t belong. When  we get the urge to give someone a bit of advice or a slice of not so nice remember the Golden Rule.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

 Progress is important especially when we look at  our world today. It is not possible for us to use horses to plow our fields to grow enough crops to feed everyone, for instance. It would be totally impractical to attempt to do many things as they were done 1 or 2 hundred years ago and the way we do things today will be antiquated within the next 20 to 50 years. 

  Progress is the way forward and yet we have an awful lot of people that have decided that their way forward is back. To that end they are burning books because they do not like the subject matter. They are robbing people of their identiy because they do not wish to give the issue a voice, a name, recognition, or even the whisper of reality. Trouble is that all the things they are afraid to let the light of day shine on have been around far longer than the concept of democracy.

  For the most part all of these supposed well meaning people are the one that have been digging around in another subject that they should be aware of that is to be kept separate from public gatherings other than church. Religion should be treated as a private matter kept between an individual and his or her savior.

  This is never the case because we are so excited by what we have learned and it is absolutely necessary for us to share this information. We are adamant that this is important and that you should hear it and all should adhere to it. You will do even if we have to shove it down your throat, come to the school and make sure that all of  the offending documents are destroyed so that no one can be corrupted by their message ever again.

  All of this does not represent progress. Each of us has a view on every aspect of life as we know it and each of us has to make our own decision on how we feel about each issue. Every decision we make should be made after careful consideration of the facts and knowing how it may impact the self, It is good to understand other people’s very points but that can not be the only basis of decision making. 

  The decisions that we make should be tempered with consideration for all that may be affected by that decision, like building a dam or blowing one up. The people that care less about how their decisions impact others, except in a harmful way, are the people that are most insecure in themselves. 

  They are always trying to be the center of attention, if this conversation is not about me then we need to change the topic. We all know people like that and even if you call them a friend chances are they cannot remember the most basic os information about you, cause you don’t count. If we would all take the time to think about it we would know that with the exception of a very few in our lives no one else really cares as they don’t know you and you don’t know them.

  We progress we realize that regardless of whether we are known by or know of the people that will benefit from the actions that we take today , we move forward and complete those projects to the best of our abilities so that all may take advantage of this effort safely and without fear of injury or death.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Here was go again the House Republicans (Trumpubicans) pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government working for the next 45 days. Well whoop-tee-doo the basic function of those elected is to keep the system working or did I not get the memo…

Newt Gingrich refused to fund the government causing the one of most significant shutdowns that lasted 21-day in 1995–1996, during the Bill Clinton administration, over opposition to major spending cuts; the 16-day shutdown in 2013, during the Barack Obama administration, caused by a dispute over implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and the longest, the 35-day shutdown of 2018–2019, during the Donald Trump administration, caused by a dispute over funding an expansion of barriers on the U.S.–Mexico border. Every time or government it has been the cause of ‘fiscal conservatives’ those that say they are only looking out for the average American citizen. They always neglect to mention that this the most affected by shut down are federal workers, military, those on social security, not to mention national parks and all the auxiliary businesses that support those other entities. The compensation for Senators, Representatives, is $174,000 annually, that is $14,500 a month and guess what… if the government shuts down, they still get their salaries. The average Social Security check is $1500 to $1700 a month and those individuals that need that money to live can go without during a shutdown but the $14,500 a month that each and every member of the house and senate receive, all 535 of them goes untouched.

This near shut down will likely cause Speaker McConnel his speakership because he has to work with the adults in the room to pass a temporary spending bill because the clown caucus with encouragement from their deposed ringleader would rather the system burn to the ground. SO, with the help of Democrats we were able to kick the can down the road till just before Thanksgiving when the shit show, garment rendering becomes headline news again.

Let’s keep the drama meter on high and worry the population because Joe Biden is really doing a good job and our economy is actually doing well but that is bad news for Trump and his minions in government. We need the perceived terror of people starving and losing their homes so that Trump can be re-elected so that people can starve and lose their homes but the top 1% won’t have to watch it.

Please Register and Vote so we can avoid this shit next cycle.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

  There is a question stirring on the wind about the cult of Trump and when it will end. It is a sure bet that people wondered when Hitler and his reign of terror would be over as with every other despot that has held power over others. Some have been little groups such as Jim Jones and like Hitler others have encompassed entire continents.

  Will the movement die if he goes to jail? Unfortunately he will probably be made a hero and the adoration will increase. Where would they be able to put him that would not end up as a problem for some community somewhere? Perhaps he could be given luxury accommodations on the Titanic.

   Is a replacement smoke and mirrors person in the wings? Judging by the crop that you see and hear about in DC it is unlikely that one of the current group has what it takes to gather the flock and get them to do stupid stuff for personal gain. Not to say they won’t do stupid stuff, we will just have to wait and see.

  If a new leader does come forward will he have the same agenda? More than likely not, but he may use the same tactics to get to the destination he has in mind. Will it be good for America, that is most likely going to be no. 

  As long as the Republican Party has the same group of backers behind it we are going to see the same sort of crap we have now. These people, mostly men, are determined to have things done their way. The reason for that mindset is probably some sort of mental illness because these guys are the ones that are pushing so many of the ideas we are seeing being played out in places likeTexas and Alabama. The laws that punish the loss of a fetus even if it was caused by something beyond medical intervention. Rewarding neighbors for spying on their neighbors. Intolerance for people of color or not native born or having a different life style, all this and more can get these folks riled up and cause harm.

  Burning books and prosecuting teachers, rewarding corrupt politicians and claiming some sort of biblical justification for doing all these things appears to make these people fulfilled, like squashing bugs on the sidewalk. They of course are really squashing hopes and dreams and feeling quite pleased about it.

  When will it change, good question. The change will happen when a younger generation of movers and shakers takes the place of these old, worn out white men that have nothing in their lives but ashes and disgust for all that do not follow their lead. At this moment they are all hoping to see the government get shut down because their man does not occupy the white house. Just a side note here, Is it possible that they helped scuttle McCains shot at the WH because he had a female running mate? Anyway the fact that thousands of people could be put in harms way economically for the sake of an ego trip is just so much bull shit. Not everyone on the face of the planet has had the opportunity to either inherent or earn or steal enough to become independent.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

 We have a common code today that no matter how naughty a child is the child is not to be punished for the breaking of rules or dishes or much of anything else. At one time punishment was a very common thing, a child might get punished at home for wetting their pants and at school for getting into a fight. This would surely lead to more punishment especially if he lost the fight. 

  So we move on to the events of today and read in the paper that a 16 year old boy in England got in trouble for cutting down a 200 hundred year old tree. This tree was by Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England that was built when the Romans occupied Britain. The tree was not there then, it was a recent arrival, but it had appeared in a movie, so that gave it so sort of importance. At any rate we must wonder why he would cut down this tree? Did he read a book and see that an American boy had cut down a tree and later became President and he thought perhaps if he cut  down a tree he could become Prime Minister. Would look good on the resume right?. The other point is that if that sort of thing is all it takes to get elected to the top spot, we should start looking at our politicians a bit more closely to see if they have done something at least as strenuous as cutting down a tree.

  The laws that have been put in place to protect children have, like so many other efforts by those that love to stick their noses in others’ business, have gone too far. Yes there are parents that should never have been parents, too bad they couldn’t be made sterol and not have to worry about it. The reason that the laws have gone too far is that the children get to know that they are allowed to get away with whatever and can cause the parents trouble if they so choose. This works just fine until they turn 18 and then the protection is gone and they have never learned to stop because they could always push that little bit further and get away with it.

  In the same way that those in our society with lots of money and the ability to make problems for all that get in their way have been allowed to bully, bribe, or buy their way and suffer no harsh consequences. The wealthy see no reason they should pay taxes, and yet they are the first to complain when a road needs repair or a bridge is not passable. Well that is the masses problem to keep these things up you cannot expect us to spend our resources on such things.

  So time for a history lesson, don’t you just love it? For all of you that have seen the movie The Shining it was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado. Mr. Stanley suffered from tuberculosis and was told the dry mountain air was what he needed to be comfortable. So he came to Colorado and found Estes Park and decided to build a hotel. Problem was that the city did not have a working water system, sewer system, or a reliable electric system. So Mr. Stanley, the builder of the Stanley Steamer Car, put all that in for the city so that he could build his hotel. We could do with a few more Mr. Stanley’s.