Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The 4th of July is nearly here, our nation’s birthday and the symbol of our nation is still being held hostage by a minority of our citizens that claim they represent the stars and stripes more proudly than the rest of us. 

Most societies are complex, they have those that are very conservative and others that are liberal in their outlook. It does not matter what title or name they give to these groups; it still comes down to the idea that the more conservative you are the less likely you are to feel compelled to show interest in your neighbor’s plight. Self-interest is the name of the game, as long as I have what I need you are on your own. Another way to mark the difference is that the conservatives usually are landowners, and the liberals work on the land.

Landowners tend to either view that land as a way to cultivate it and reap the benefits or rape the land and rip out the assets. Either way they are not often generous in sharing the rewards of the enterprise. Our nation was founded by men that owned the land and because of that they had a voice where others did not and a king and the government behind him were doing their best to rip the wealth away from the colonies.

Even after the revolution was over the landowners kept power. They allowed the other men to vote, they just put stop gaps in place to make sure the vote would go the way they wanted to go, it is called the electoral college.  This was put in place to overcome the lack of education of the common man. Even when the practice of slavery ended, they held the power by wanting to give people of color ⅗ of a vote.

Today it is called gerrymandering. Working in the voting districts so that a minority ends up with the majority of the representation. A portion of that group runs around calling themselves patriots, when they in fact do not represent American values, and they defile our national emblem by hanging it on all sorts of vehicles and getting it filthy and allowing it to fly when it is torn and soiled. 

A patriot will answer the call to defend the nation against foreign invaders, a patriot does not take up arms against his neighbor because he does not agree with you about a certain policy, procedure, or law. These differences are the ones we discuss and find mutual ground to settle not threaten or are willing to kill because one or two people didn’t get their way.

We have a huge problem with homelessness, and it is costing us millions of dollars. We have the only country in the world that practices live shooter exercises in our public schools. That is also costing us dearly not only in dollars but in the mental and emotional problems of our youth, our nation’s future. Will someone turn off the dissenting bastard with the microphone and kick his ass out of the building?

A national political party allowed itself to be hijacked and that hijacker used what he has always used to get what he wanted. The more base the language and the more schoolyard bully tactics he could use seemed to fire up some that were never really into politics before and shouldn’t be now. Our political system is dysfunctional and has been since the early 60’s because they put through a rider on a bill that allowed them to make determinations for themselves about wages, health care, retirement, and benefits. They do not need to listen to the voters on any of those issues; it is all in house.

The second time around the bully did not make it back into office, very upsetting as he had hopes of becoming King. At any rate a lot of things happened that should not have happened and our court system, our news establishment, and law enforcement as well as several individuals have ended up with problems that we may not see over and done for quite a long time to come.

We are having armed individuals show up at voting places and what is their purpose? Are they there to help or intimidate voters. If you are uncomfortable with this type of show, then are you going to go vote? Threats, intimidation, and efforts to cast doubt on the voting process need to be treated as you would an armed robbery. Let’s take it a step further and call for disqualification of the candidate that has called for this type of interference. Can you see the blame game going on that issue?

    In leu of having the nation torn apart because of the outcome of an election just bar the person that has already proven himself to be unfit and tell that party to find another qualified candidate or withdraw. Qualified means someone who is actually supportive of the Constitution not out trying to destroy it.

The latest gambit is the one about a news person suggesting that maybe he can get a pardon if he withdraws for the election, and of course, this is out of the question as he is in the fight to protect you. This is the same type of story as the one about running a human bondage center out of the basement of a building that doesn’t have a basement. More hero worship or put me on a pedestal as I am your savior.

Power and the money that hopefully goes with it are the prizes in this game and the country and all the people in it are nothing more than pawns on the chess board.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

What You Focus On Is What Becomes Powerful – Why Your Thoughts and Feelings Matter

There is an interesting theory and real-world correlation on achievement through thought. There have been numerous books written on the subject and many of them have become bestsellers. ‘How to Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill is an oldie but a goodie and one many of us have probably read, there are thousands of titles out there and I would recommend reading every one of them if you have the inclination.

The basic premise of most of these titles is that if you focus on something that energy will have you always on the lookout for it. I read if you are thinking about a yellow car, you will unintentionally see more yellow cars because you are looking for them. The same holds true for your attitude, if you are always angry or upset that all you will see in the world and that negative outlook will only drive you deeper into the ditch.

Think about a time that you were broke… that constant feeling and thinking about how little you had perpetuated the brokenness you were experiencing instead of looking for a solution your mind focuses on the lack of what ever you were missing. It the same concept of focusing on your pain… if instead you concentrate on you breathing the pain diminishes.

I know this all sounds like Dali Lama, hocus pocus BS but it actually works. I am not trying to fill your head with the fantasy that if you concentrate on winning the lottery you will win it, that would be some next level magic shit. But, if you focus on something you want or need and keep it in the forefront of your mind, our miraculous brain will look for ways to satisfy that goal. Crazy right!?

So here is an experiment for you to try… just decide that you are going to have a great day. When someone asks how you are, smile and say great. Say it and believe it. I can almost guarantee that you will have a great day!!

Thank you for indulging me… and HAVE A GREAT DAY😊

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

The origins of Juneteenth date back to June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, a U.S. Army officer and Union General during the Civil War, issued an order in Galveston, Texas, announcing that all slaves were free under the Emancipation Proclamation. The Civil War ended in Spring, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

I completely understand the information delivery system in the 1860’s was antiquated as compared to modern day, but they did have the telegraph before the civil war so why did it take 40 days after Lee’s surrender for all slaves to be told that they were free.

In retrospect Washington ended hostilities ending the war for independence on April 18, 1783, and the proclamation of the end of the war was widely recognized by April 23, 1783. So, the news that the war for our independence ended, nearly 100 years prior to the end of the Civil War and with the telegraph system, was disseminated in 4 days but the totality of slaves did not know they were free for 40 days. That would seem comical if we didn’t understand the historical president that this fact obviously fits into.

In June of 2021, Congress passed a resolution Congressman Cohen co-sponsored to establish the federal holiday. President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021, and Juneteenth was first celebrated as a federal holiday the next day. It took the remaining slaves 40 days to know they were free and 156 years for the country to recognize this as a historical event. I loved history in school and have read about every period in American history and this small sliver of information wasn’t something I randomly came across I literally had to go looking for it. I knew about Juneteenth in the early 2000s only because I had done the research and even though President Biden has made it a Federal Holiday most still have no idea what the date stands for.

It is sad that we still celebrate a murderous Italian that sailed under a Spanish Flag that never stepped foot on North American soil. Columbus for those of you who don’t know who I am referring to. But then again, he was a white European so there’s that.  

How many other events do we ignore of our own stained history? We do celebrate MLK day, but we discount so much more. In the early 20^th century because segregation laws that prevented Black residents from shopping in white neighborhoods, and the desire to keep money circulating in their own community, Tulsa, OK, Greenwood residents collectively funneled their cash into local Black businesses. This was affectionately called Black Wall Street. As if on que for the white populous on May 31 and June 1, 1921, mobs of white residents attacked Black residents, homes, and businesses, as well as cultural and public institutions in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK,. An estimated 300 people were killed and approximately 35 acres of commercial and residential property within the Greenwood District. Have any schools taught about this ugly event in our nation’s history. Well of course not because it might make Jaden uncomfortable just like amending Rosa Parks story to not include, she was disobedient to a white segregation law that said she had to sit in the back of the bus.

Guess what folks this isn’t Critical Race Theory, the right-wing cry about CRT, this is just fucking history.  Lincoln said it best: “History is not history unless it is the truth.” The facts of our past may not be the rosy picture you want to see but the lessons to be learned from our past mistakes are what history has to offer.

Today we cannot whitewash the past just because it doesn’t subscribe to a favorable, we can do no wrong, image some want to believe we have always had.  As a nation we have done some really great things, but we have also done just as many, if not more, really terrible things. The goal of history is to recognize the facts, learn from them and try with all our might not to repeat the bad shit.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

• “Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” — Charles Kettering

This is the most appropriate Father’s Day quote I could find. I feel that I have always tried to follow my father’s example not that his advice was not worthy, but the example helped set the path. I hope that I have set an example for my son, I know in my heart that he will be a better man than I am.

Short and sweet day…. Happy Father’s Day

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

We have so many angry people running around shouting and telling one and all that you cannot be __________ and vote democrat. That is an opinion and the person doing the shouting is the one holding it. What makes him right or wrong or smart or stupid? 

So, look at it as his opinion and he has a right to it, shouting about his opinion and telling others what he thinks is stupid. We each hold opinions on so many things and if we truly hope to get others to accept and support that opinion, we should try by not pissing off half the people within earshot of where we are shouting. 

Expressing oneself is a right but inciting a riot is a crime. In the present state of so many states it would also be a very good way to get yourself killed. This is the ultimate way to shut up someone who has definitely lost the necessary mental ability to know when to be quiet.

All of these well informed, we know what is best for everyone types, seem to possess the same attitude these days. That attitude is to be as loud as possible and repeat our message as often as possible even when it has nothing to do with what was going on. Social media has the same hang up in as much as you can get plenty of talk on any subject from any angle and most of it is supportive of only one side of any issue.

This is also the way that our elected officials seem to be handling the business of the nation. They sit in the palaces of Congress and talk incessantly about how good we are and how bad you are depending on which side of the aisle you sit. How the hell did any congressional group ever get anything done? The Continental Congress had to come together to wage the war of independence, the Civil War did not get concluded without cooperative effort, WWI the great depression and WWII. The more recent activity must have been a monumental challenge as all we have is talking heads. Decisions do not seem to be part of the outcome of our current batch of elected officials. 

There are some members that we hear next to nothing about, so hopefully they are taking care of business not spending their time at a casino or strip club. The ones that are always in the news are either trying to make a name for themselves or pushing some punitive measure that is designed to hurt the majority of the country’s citizens and help just a handful of rich ones.

Money seems to be the only thing that is needed to get elected by either party. There seems to be no background checks. We hear so much about profiling when it comes to police interactions with certain segments of the population, but no one is profiling people running for congress. It would be helpful to know certain things like how many times have they been picked up for DUI, or are they a former porn star, or do they have a history of violence? These attributes as well as others might tell us what kind of legislative person they are going to be. 

What on the list bothers you? Not being able to control drinking, the violence or being a porn star? Other things that should be considered are things like can this person make decisions without running to a parent, or church leader, or based on a situation not hyperbole.

At one time all actors and people connected to movies were considered to be Communists. Then a few years later we elect an actor to be President. No one would have considered Al Capone for President, but we elected a man that talks and acts like a mafia boss. What happened to our value system? Did the nation go and lose focus on what we are, and where we were headed? Has the change come about gradually as members of Congress have gone from the stance that legislation was to be considered and tempered to reflect the best for the largest segment of society to the stated attitude that “My one task is to stop whatever the President put on the table”. 

This is not legislation; this is belligerent malfeasance and it needs to stop. The person that so blatantly is going to be the roadblock needs to go home and not come back. The people that follow those kind of directions need not be in congress as they are representing anyone, unless it is a core of rich contributors that are making this very buyable but not reputable individual rich.

Too many influences have been added to the mix over recent years, such as corporations are people too, and these super PACs that put millions into the companies to get individuals elected.

It seems that if you do not have money and you cannot be bought you have no place in politics.  We might be better off with the porn star, after all the main reason to have sex is pleasure and if you can keep the endorphins going that pleasure can last quite a while and if they are able to get pleasure from service to the public good then go with it.

Once an older man described to me when he thought of the U.S. as great. That was during the Second World War and he watched for 7 days in a row as American troops marched through his village going south toward the coast of England. They stopped at night, were taken in by the locals, and the next morning they joined up and continued. Then a few days later they watched as trucks and tanks moved on that same road around the clock for 7 more days and he said everyone knew that the Germans were in for it then. Let us hope that we do not have to fight World War Three to be considered great again.