Author: Blue Bronc

Born in Detroit when Truman was president, survived the rest of them. Early on I learned that FDR was the greatest president, which has withstood all attempts to change that image. Democratic Party, flaming liberal, Progressive, equality for all and a believer in we are all human and deserve respect and understanding. College educated, a couple of degrees, a lot of world experience and tons of fun. US Air Force (pre-MRE days). Oil and gas fields, computer rooms and stuff beyond anything I can talk about. It has been quite a life so far. The future is making my retirement boat my home. Dogs, cats and other critters fill my life with happiness. Work pays the bills.

“Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation.”

Edward R Murrow regarding the war in Indo-China, the Vietnam War

A question worth asking, as the debate over leaving Afghanistan takes place, have things changed to where a presence forever in a foreign country makes sense?  I am all for leaving, but this is not like when the Soviets left a long time ago in the nineteen eighties.  At that time they were in Afghanistan for a different reason.

Although the Americans went in under the pretense of fighting terrorism, that was twenty years ago.  Americans went in roughly ten some years after the Soviets left.  Times have changed.  Back then the shell of the Russian world was collapsing under the weight of it actually being a step above a third world country. 

Today, we are looking at an ambitious country which is actually doing more than supplying weapons.  China goes into a country and improves it, but with a debt to be paid later.  The later payment date is having China pseudo rule it. 

Could we be back in the Cold War but with a different opponent?  Yes, I think we are.  China does have the cojones to do things the old Soviets could not.  And, they are doing it by not brutalizing the people during the invasion.  China shows up with a wallet.

Do we accept the unknown consequences of leaving the Southwest Asia countries without a presence?  Or, do we stay in one to provide a block to another political adversary? I see the question as one we need to ask now and be prepared for an answer we do not like. I would enjoy China adding its flag to the pile of invaders who thought it a good place to set up a military outpost.

We the People of the United States,

in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Having endured many days, most likely hours, listening to those who are the cult members, followers, true believers, of the former guy, I am hearing a few commonalities to their alternate world.

First, you have to ignore or deflect much of the garbage and alternate universe talk used to cover their true thinking.  There is so much about how President Biden is unable to speak or think due to severe dementia or some other mix of diseases; about how First Lady Jill Biden either talks for him (ventriloquist?) or tells him what to say (invisible on the podium?).  Add that he is forcing the U.S. into Communism, that is another discourse.  How the far left is running the country, I ask to name anyone and how it is possible with McConnell not allowing anything through the Senate.  And, much more stuff that is only possible in a universe far, far away.

Get past the horse apples of the cult members trying to change direction away from their leader and you find commonalities of their real issues.  The most important is race, anyone not Northern European Caucasian (brilliant white) is a problem.  The second is “those people” are getting free X (fill in the X) and “I am paying for them to do Y (fill in the Y)”. 

It all comes down to the Regan bull patties of Welfare Queens and race politics.  The common thread.  It comes from the delusion that they are supporting people who are getting away with not working for a living and living a better life for it.  The followers are jealous and believe those people are getting special privileges and getting away with not having to work.

Some of the jealousy comments I have heard are from people who are not working for a living, and have not worked for a living in years.  They are receiving Social Security Disability payments or state payments.  A few are retired but living the life of finding ways to be a victim in a victimless situation.  But something interesting to me was the spread of incomes.  From high income to low income, although we tend to think of a cult member as being lower income, that is not true. The belief that they are supporting lazy no good people is the common theme.

A final thought about the most common trait they have is they can bad mouth and say all sorts of nasty, vile and evil lies about any Democrat (espcially Biden, Clinton, Obama) but you cannot say one thing derogatory about the former guy.  Do that and they might do nasty things to you, and with any luck they might not talk to you again.

Pictures are memories preserved for the future

A project which has been on hold for a decade or so is finally under way.  Scanning to digital storage thousands of 35mm slides, printed pictures, negatives and assorted other forms of pictures has started.  Mine go back at about sixty-five years. 

A scanner which can do the work is a necessity.  I used to have one, but that was in 1999 or 2000 and it is long gone.  At the time many scanners came with holders for slides and negatives, but as the digital photographic grew, the need to scan film decreased.  I bought one of the few scanners available today.

So many memories are captured in those slides and negatives.  Many very good memories waiting to be visited.  And, those pictures are so important to revive long ago views.

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.

 “Live your life in a manner so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.” – Native American Proverb

During our lifetimes we say goodbye to many people, family, friends and those we only know by name and fame.  This is natural and normal.  Death takes all of us at some time in our lives.

Those of us who have seen a lot of loops around the Sun start noticing the increase of “names” as we keep living our lives.  The slope of life makes sure of this.  The longer the slope the more names we recognize with the R.I.P. after them.  Of course, this does have some limits, if you have completed almost one hundred loops, there are very few close friends left around to celebrate another year of breathing.

Now is the time for Baby Boomers to start popping up daisies in the fields.  We were a large bulge in the expansion of population following WWII.  We also had a great number of names who had fame.  Some, like Soupy Sales, were of a previous generation.  Some, such as John Belushi, are of the Baby Boomer generation.  We mourned their passing a while ago.

Now we are starting to see the end of the last generation leaving us and an increasing number of our own generation too.  Just by having a large number of Boomers means we are going to see a lot of names in the obituaries and even the front page, and it will increase for years after us early ones have left the playing field.

I salute the very last of the Greatest Generation, my mother, the Silent Generation, and the first wave of the Baby Boomer Generation.  Long may you live.

I don’t care if they respect me, so long as they fear me.

— Caligula

August 9, 1974 Nixon resigns.

We kept the newspapers and put them in special bags to keep them for posterity.  The shock and the importance of the event was so hard to believe.  There was nothing to reference in our lives for this event.

Those newspapers moved around the country with us, always a reminder of a tremendous event.  If only we knew to keep more than one copy of each newspaper.

This week has shaken many of us more than watching Tricky Dick waving his stupid fingers as he entered the helicopter.

As close to a disaster Nixon had brought us, it is nothing like what the idiot and imbecile is doing.  He directed an attack on the Congress, the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.  He had tried to cause damage if not death to the people who are supposed to be in place for succession of the government.

The Executive Branch put together an attack on the Legislative Branch of the U.S. government.  The only reason the coup d’état failed is because the idiot failed to create a usable military unit which could capture or kill the Congress and the Vice President.  Due to his narcissistic brain he could not pass command to someone, such as a former general named Flynn, who could create a unit capable of taking over the Capitol building.

I am not saving the newspapers now.  Going forward the Internet will record what is happening.

The new impeachment is a real one.  This time it is to impeach a president who tried to  become a dictator.