Drifting Fate

The following is from the "Come and Make It" blog, which I know nothing about, and found it following links, so who knows how I got there. Anyway... I obviously have a connection to the Philippines through my wife, but it’s also an interesting window on a number of levels: 1) They have traditionally been very pro-America due to being a protectorate as a result of the Spanish-American War and having been treated and well educated to Western standards. 2) They are an Asian nation who is 2nd World, so they are a good gauge for the entire region, much better than industrialized, 1st World Japan 3) The current president is a train wreck authoritarian which helps us gauge how such an approach works on American ideals.  In one word, “Beware”. 4) They are fighters.  While primarily a blade culture, they have fairly loose gun laws for citizens and aren’t afraid about personal repercussions when it comes to making a point and standing up for what is right.  This is...

In a recent article on Fox News , it was reported that California, Oregon, and Washington have come together in an exclusionary pact on how they will re-open their economies.... somehow together, yet somehow not hinder "state-specific plans."  Together, but separate, I guess. Trump has Tweeted, correctly, that it is the President's call on this.  For one, it only makes sense that 50 interconnected economies are really one large economy and each ship needs a single captain, not 51 different captains. Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump · 9h For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect.... 37.1K 30.1K 122K ...

If the virus can be kept at bay and enough work done at home to satisfy the boss, these days may be gifts for a lot of you. I've mentioned it before, but you can choose to binge watch some mindless sludge of a TV show (the one with tigers in it which is such the rage right now just proves my point), or, you can use the time to discover real entertainment and knowledge. In that vein, I, like every other blogger out there, am going to make a reading list for your consideration. First up, The Hobbit   by J.R.R. Tolien. If you have somehow missed reading it until now, please don't rely on the movie, not even the animated one from the 1970's.  The book is oh so much better.  Follow Bilbo Baggins on the adventure that brought fantasy to the modern era. From delightful fiction to horrific non-fiction, The Great Influenza   by John Barry.  Paperbacks are currently out of stock (I wonder why?), you can certainly get along with the Kindle version.  ...

When I started this blog, I did so with every bit of monetization turned off.  I felt that the blog served many purposes - an outlet for my writing bug, a way to formulate my thoughts into cohesive arguments, and, more than anything, a way to reach out and share my view of the world with, well, the world, but mostly friends and family.  That just didn't seem to qualify as something to earn money off of. That's not changing.  But, it also brings up a similar vein in that I rarely will let anyone else profit from this blog. That's not changing, either.  Note, I did say "rarely". John Lovell is the founder and main driving force behind the Warrior Poet Society.  Coming out of the Army Rangers, he didn't just set himself up as yet another firearms instructor.  He wanted to share his passion for Christ, views on what it means to be a husband and father, and a desire to bring back true masculine characteristics into a politically correct world which is wagi...

The hardest times are ahead of us - health, political, social, and for some mental.  Calls to suicide hotlines have grown exponentially by all accounts. Our years of handing out participation trophies has gained us hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of citizens who cannot handle negative news or hard times. I recently listened to a podcast where an expert talked about how difficult times literally build mental strength.  Each time we go through difficult or stressful events, chemicals are released in our brain to deal with it; the more incidents, the more our brain becomes hardwired to deal with difficulty. It goes a long way towards explaining why people from poor, agrarian backgrounds so often become some of our best soldiers, sailors, and Marines.  The horror of war is something easier for them to roll with, giving them vital mental and emotional resources to deal with the issues at hand instead of spending them on accepting the difficult environment they fi...

Thomas Massie, Republican representative from Kentucky, has been attacked by the Left and Right for simply asking representatives to do what we send them to Washington, D.C., to do - formally vote on the $2,000,000,000,000 corona virus "stimulus" bill.  You know, the one where they give you back your own money and ask to be congratulated for it. All Rep. Massie did was follow the Constitution.  It really was a telling moment.  For decades, the Left has been accused of seeing the Constitution as an impediment to what they want to do, not a guide.  Now, we see the same holds for the corporate Right as well. Even so-called conservatives are making fun of those who question the government's right and ability to do things such as close businesses and limit travel.  In places like Rhode Island and Florida, it has literally been, "Where are your papers?", you know, the WWII joke that was always made when totalitarianism came up. As someone pointed out, the Foundi...

Viruses flourish throughout our world, some infect us and do bad things when they do, most just look at us a go, "Meh", and keep on walking by. When a virus mutates enough to make the jump from an animal to a human we have things like the "Swine Flue" and "H1N1". But, what does it mean when a virus which affects humans begins to infect our dogs and cats ?  I really don't know.  I'm not sure I've heard of such a jump before.  Our systems are so different that such a jump isn't common.  And, yet, a cat and two dogs have tested positive for COVID-19, assumed to have caught it from their owners. It feels, and I know that's a bad word, but it's the right word, it feels like this just puts another nail in the coffin of this being a naturally occurring virus.  With complete certainty and zero facts, hold on - I'm going full progressive, I'm just going to say that this is now officially a bio-weapon.  Oh, sure, DNA stu...

One thing about emergencies, they tend to clear out the cotton between the ears and set the thinking straight, at least for a little while. Just so we're clear:

This morning, numbers came out from Italy and China.  Surprisingly, they were very similar.  Mortality rates are low until the 60's at which point they climb precipitously, upwards of 20%+. However, a bit of caution must be maintained when we look at these numbers.  First, Italy was barely hanging on economically and was expected to be one of the falling dominoes of the EU.  Their health care, socialized, of course, was pretty much being held together with bubblegum and hope.  China, manufacturer to the world, has never realized population-wide health care which came anywhere near to Western standards. China is a closed country and while we can only guess how they have treated their corona virus patients, we know life is cheap within those borders and we have no reason to believe that an overstressed system was when those standards would change. Multiple reports have come out of Italy that the dramatic lack of ventilators meant anyone over 60 was literally...