Follow the Money

 When crimes are committed, three things are taken into account: means, motive and opportunity.  Means are the tools used in the crime; rope, firearm, gasoline, knife, ladder, hammer, etc, are means. 

 

Opportunity is the ability to commit a crime, and often involves an alibi.  No one was home to witness the burglary, it was too dark to see or identify the assailant, the suspect claims he was out of town and has witnesses to vouch for that fact.

 

Motive, on the other hand, is not necessary to successfully prosecute a crime, but helps with swaying a jury to convict.  Often the motive is something of value, for instance stolen items, revenge, or money.  Hence the saying “Follow the money.”  The perpetrator is usually somewhere on that trail.

 

Money has been the great motivator in life since before The Bible was written.  Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for 30-pieces of silver.  Paul Getty was kidnapped and held hostage for $17,000,000.   Charles Lindberg’s 20-month old son was kidnapped in exchange for ransom in the amount of $50,000, only to be found dead after the money was paid.

 

These are but a few examples of following the money that can be seen as instrumental in solving crimes thereby leading to apprehensions and court prosecutions.

 

Money is that great motivator that can make a good man turn bad.  The King James Bible contains a line, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”  This is where we will begin today’s story.

 

For decades the world, but especially the United States, has been snookered by science.  As of late, “follow the science” has been the popular catchphrase that goes hand-in-glove with the “science” that has been bastardized by people who don’t, but should, know better.

 

Flat Earthers is the term used by the anointed among the smart people in our country.  Those smart folks are the ones who insisted we, as a nation, get to work recycling old cans, bottles, papers, and anything else they deemed dangerous to our environment.  And we did.  For decades.

 

And for those decades we toted special recycling bins to the curb with plastic bottles, Styrofoam, glass jars, and beverage empties.  After all that we were instructed to stop recycling glass bottles.  Now!  Was the bottle crisis over?  No, it was because glass was too expensive to process.  Good ‘nuff.

 

Clearly someone along the way realized the money was flowing in the wrong direction to make it cost effective.  No actual problem was solved, and no other solution was created or substituted; it was suddenly too expensive for the guvment to recycle glass.  Damn the environment!  Follow the money.

 

For years, we’ve been hearing from experts from places such as Green Peace, the Sierra Club, and The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, all of whom have their hands deep inside the pockets of taxpayers and politicians alike.

 

Each year we fork over billions of dollars to these environmentally-conscious organizations that piously tell those benevolent politicians that this year, with only another modest eight-figure grant, the problems-at-hand will likely be solved.

 

Of course they’re not solved and never will be as long as that bottomless pit o’ cash keeps spewing money like Mt Etna spews lava.

 

One of the big years-long scams that continually need lots of your and my money is renewable energy.  Renewable energy is that stuff from which dreams are made.  If you want to challenge me, feel free.  But here are the facts that have been contorted to get access to more funding.

 

A quick internet search for bird deaths found this: “While it is true that wind turbines do kill some birds, they are not even close to the primary cause of death to the avian population.”  This appears to be the standard line used on every site concerning wind turbines, so we know it is manufactured for general consumption as a uniform response.

 

So I checked with the Audubon Society, an environmental organization known for its conservation of birds and their habitat.

 

Efficient bird murderer

The Audubon Society uses figures that an estimated 140,000 to 500,000 feathered friends succumbed to wind turbine deaths in 2020.  Of course they are quick to point out that those numbers are far less than their number of 2,400,000,000 killed by cats each year.

 

A website called EV Wind states that wind power accounted for 8.3% of electricity in 2020.  That’s not much to kill nearly 500,000 birds.

 

Unfortunately, cats don’t normally stand 60-feet in the air, and feral cats use birds as food.

 

So it was with interest that I read a newspaper article that appeared to squirt out from the liberal newsroom unnoticed.  It seems a though that pooh-poohed bird death figure may not be as insignificant as first presented.  Naughty kitties.

 

Its headline read:  “Energy firm to breed condors to replace birds killed by turbines”.  Uh, oh.  Appearing in the March 10, 2021, Tampa Bay Times, this article was written by Louis Sahagún, from the Los Angeles Times, and goes on to paint a bloody picture of the efficiency of this form renewable energy.

 

Subject to avian death have been California condors, eagles, hawks, and bats.  But none of this really disturbs environmentally conscious people who see death as an acceptable price over the environment.  My question is how much does each bird cost?

Perhaps someone should follow the money.  Wink, wink.

Cancel This

Since I heard President Joseph Robinette “Plugs” Biden was eager to open the southern border to the United States I renewed an earlier effort to learn Spanish.

 

My sainted wife and I used to live in a “mixed” neighborhood – meaning people naturally gravitated there to live because they liked the environs which had mass transportation nearby, and houses they could afford.

 

We, as a collective area, never giggled in joy, nor groused in anger, over the new incoming residents.  We politely invited all to participate in events, help the civic association, join one another at block party events, and spend leisure time together.

 

In all those years, the Spanish-speaking natives tried to learn and speak English, and so I tried to learn Spanish.  It only seemed decent.  We all got good laughs at how we sometimes struggled to communicate with aplomb, often asking for the price of a basket of clams rather than offering a pleasant greeting.  But we tried.

 

It was as if we lived on a modest island together, helping each other with home projects and auto repairs, aiding in personal comfort in bad times and celebrating good, alike.

 

We had men and women, straights and gays, black, brown and white, besides young and old residents;  We were a microcosm of the United Nations, only more efficient and inclusive.

 

It was a sad day when we moved away from that area because we left not only a house, but an entire lifestyle.

 

So it is with trepidation that I watched the news only to learn our old neighborhood was something many in today’s world are attempting to destroy, and I’m not sure why.

 

Suddenly, everyone is offended by something, anything, and everything.

 

Whether it’s Nabisco’s Oreo tweets about “Trans people exist,” or a Mister Potato Head being offensive, I’m pretty well lost.

 

Of course trans people exist, but you’re going to have to work a little harder at how Mister Potato Head – or Señor Potato Head in the Biden White House – is detrimental to America.

 

Mr. Potato Head wannabe

I had a Mister Potato Head as a kid, but we had to use real potatoes, not plastic replicas with perforations.  I can’t recall anything I might consider racist about that toy, but if it offends you, don’t buy one.

 

Just as with Oreo cookies.  They summarily rubbed my nose in a battle that doesn’t have anything to do with me; I’m not a Cocker Spaniel that just peed on the carpet.  But if Nabisco folks feel their political interests are that important, I’ll buy Hydrox cookies from here on in; let the trans people buy Oreos.  You’re welcome.

 

Last week, on Read Across America Day, March 2^nd, a panicky American populace melted down for some stupid reason.  By way of background, Read Across America Day was established to honor a fellow, Theodore Geisel, with the pen name Dr. Seuss, who had written tons of books geared toward children.

 

My sister was a big fan of Dr. Seuss books and learned to read with them.  But now, grave insanity has crept into the heads of idle people.  These kooks proudly announced their magical discovery of something racist in these books.  That was good enough for Plugs Biden to not mention Mr. Geisel’s name or his pen name.

 

The rest of the story is that Read Across America is celebrated in early March because it is the birthday of Mr. Geisel.  It’s a sad time in our country.

 

Not to be outdone, a company selling carbonated soft beverages - Coca Cola - had an internal training slide that instructs viewers to be "less white, less arrogant, less certain, less defensive, less ignorant and more humble."  Not the way I heard that old ad campaign about teaching "the world to sing."

Out of the sky, a new catch phrase, “systemic racism,” fell upon only White Americans, because ironically, those lobbing these charges are, themselves, racists.  Painting an entire segment of society with a broad brush is childish.  But not unlike that old word “Abracadabra,” the word “Racist” conjures up preconceived results from people trying to distract from the real issue.

 

None of this “cancel culture” is good for anybody, and is only leading us down a sordid path of self-destruction.  Arguing with nitwits that lodge these stupid, baseless complaints should be met with a firm and honest, “Shut up.”  And the capitalist market will eventually sort out the winners and losers in this contorted race to lose.

 

Each day thousands of people from Central and South America trudge across our border, both legally and illegally, and others float across the waters from Cuba in inner tubes to come here. 

 

They’re not coming to America because we finally put a nail in the coffin of Dr. Seuss, or because Mister Potato Head is, at last, complying with some unknown new standard.  

They are coming here because this country is the finest example of inclusiveness in the world.  And now is the time those whiners should look into the mirror to decide where the real problem is. 

Bully

 We begin this story with a bit of history about the English language.  Over the course of time, the meaning of certain words evolve into something totally different than their original connotation.

 

Take the word “bully,” for example.  Bully, according to an online source, had a much different meaning when it was first used. 

 

“The word "bully" was first used in the 1530s meaning "sweetheart", applied to either sex, from the Dutch boel "lover, brother", probably diminutive of Middle High German buole "brother", of uncertain origin (compare with the German buhle "lover"). ... The verb "to bully" is first attested in 1710.”  Thanks, Wikipedia.

 

Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt, a U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, used the word “bully” as an adjective to mean “excellent” or “first rate.”

 

But somewhere along the way the term bully became a campaign slogan that can be evidenced by the countless web sites peppering the internet.  Virtually every one has a moral message to the masses to STOP BULLYING!

 

That same word today conjures up an image of a larger person – child or otherwise – talking down to and intimidating a smaller, defenseless person.

 

Such a picture is mentally imbedded in our sensitive, caring minds.  It almost immediately, silently calls for a cessation to any heinous act being perpetrated upon another human being.  Period.  That is called empathy.

 

Who wants to see a person being harassed, harangued, or hounded, for any reason?  Now replace the word “person” with the world “child”.

 

These “talents” have been taught and nurtured at home.  Kids see this sort of behavior directed toward family pets, siblings, and even spouses.  And if the police are called to intervene, the children often become combative towards the authorities; bullying.

 

Today’s world has morphed from a polite society into a combative journey.  Suddenly everyone is offended over anything and everything, and the rational among us have become targets of wrath just because.

 

If you don’t believe me look around your neighborhood.  It is a microcosm of our national self.  People in your neighborhood should attempt to get along as neighbors; most likely they don’t.  If they don’t, they at least should pretend to care; again, they don’t.

 

People are supposed to wear masks to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 flu virus.  If they do, they wear them wrong.  If challenged, the offenders sometimes become combative; several police officers have been killed because of these masks.

 

Airline flying waitresses regularly appear in the news because patrons don’t wear their required masks and often result in physical batteries and assaults.

 

Trash regularly blows about neighborhood yards mixing with neighbor’s dog poop.  Of course no one will pick up their own garbage.  Kids arrogantly drop candy wrappers on the street, cigarette butts dot manicured lawns, and self-entitled neighbors traipse through yards creating goat paths, as if they owned them.

 

Noisy cars and trucks blaring annoying and offensive excuses for music roar up and down the roads, much to the chagrin of residents.

 

Of course no one can yell, “STOP!” lest they be judged a racist, misogynist, bigot, fogey, or homophobe.  And no offender will apologize for disrupting your little space on this seemingly shrinking planet.

 

Lies about this planet bursting into flames by 2018 are greeted with sorrow; anyone not jumping aboard that wacky train are simply said to be “denying the science.”  Science of climate change?  An oxymoron, at best.

 

And speaking of “denying the science,” newly developed and approved flu vaccines are being politicized as racist and anti-black. According to the anointed among us, the vaccine should be given to minorities, first.

 

We’re told we should stop eating meat.  We are told the death penalty is amoral, but abortion is good.  Cigarettes are evil, smoking marijuana should be legalized.

 

Actors board private jets to fly across the Earth to accept an award from climate change committees, where they give speeches about how your SUV pollutes.

 

Politicians want to take away your right to self defense while they’re surrounded with armed security forces.

 

Beloved Coca Cola announced White people are racists, while publishing a set of guidelines on how Whities should behave.

 

False narratives exude from questionable social media sources, all contrived to repeat lies until they are thought of as the truth.  Silencing the truth is immoral, but applauded as necessary.

 

There is so much more to discuss, but I’m sure you get the idea.  These are all examples of bullying we face today. 

 

We need to return to a polite society, and until then, don’t try to bully me or my family and friends because I, and countless others, are aware of your tactics.

Giddy

I swear I sensed giddiness while watching television this past week, and a fellow named David Hogg was front and center.

David Miles Hogg is an American anti-gun activist.  At age 20, he is a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, in Parkland, Florida.

 

A lone gunman burst into the school on February 14^th, and systematically shot 34, killing 17, in a senseless act.  That gunman was 19-years old at the time, and as of this writing, is still awaiting trial.

 

Immediately, the press gathered around the survivors and achieved their desired results: record the grief of the survivors, their parents, teachers, and politicians, for sensational news and posterity.

 

And almost immediately, those clips edited down to 15-second bites were peppering the airwaves in a predictable effort to outlaw guns.  The pious among us always seem to misplace their priorities when solving what the anointed feel are viable solutions to ill-perceived problems.

 

It didn’t take much time for the first hand affected to settle on a unified solution, though, and once established, publicizing it.  This is where Hogg enters the picture.

 

Being 18-years old at the time, he has grown into what I term a “media whore.”  Media whores ardently search for a microphone or a television camera to tell their story, not unlike most politicians.

 

Hogg became an overnight sensation because he was well spoken and seemed thoughtful, and used the words the slanted media wanted to hear: gun control.

 

Every bit as dangerous as a gun, and quieter

Throughout the ensuing months, Hogg’s message turned into a focus on which guns should be controlled.  Keep in mind he is not, was not, and likely never will be a gun expert.  Rather he relies upon what the liberal media and Leftist movie industry say about the danger of guns in America.

 

And so it went.  The media of which I am speaking is the same media that contorted the “facts” about Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral win and distorted his 2020 election debacle.  They deftly lied about up being down, left being right, wet being dry, and good being evil.

 

Hogg was resurrected in time for the third anniversary of the Parkland shooting to remind America that he not only had a new life, but a new mission.  And boy was he giddy.

 

His new mission was announced as a competitor to pillow maker, Mike Lindell.  Lindell is the man who overcame personal tragedies to direct his life toward God and goodness.  Hogg, however, wants to show Lindell who’s the boss in the pillow world.  No lie.

 

Hoggs’ new mission, on the other hand, is to remind the new president Joseph Robinette Biden, that calloused former President Donald Trump did little in the way of outlawing legal tools in the form of guns.

 

With complicit, equally giddy Congressclowns already writing House Bills to control and register guns, the timing would seem suspect, if not ultimately planned.  And it was.

 

The design is simple: create a list of guns, ammunition, and parts that the Left find distasteful, and create a mandatory registration with federal prison and financial penalties to make a point of fear.  This law would instantly turn honest Americans into criminals overnight.

 

So it was with interest that I read an internet story in the New York Post dateline 2/17/2021, titled “Gunmen kill student, kidnap 27 in attack in Nigerian school”.

 

If you missed the first word of that headline, please re-read it; I’ll wait for you.

 

Yes, guns were instrumental in this form of regular mayhem in Nigeria.

 

“Gunmen” is the key to that headline, and it is important because West Africa’s Nigeria closely resembles a 356,669 square mile toilet.

 

Those kidnapped children are usually used for ransom money and sex trafficking, and occasionally returned; unfortunately they are psychologically and physically damaged at that point.

 

This is where David Hogg and the anti-gun crowd need to pay attention.  Nigeria was under British rule until 1960.  In the late 1960’s Nigeria experienced a civil war and eventually settled on both civilian governments and military dictatorships.

 

To reach internal peace and safety, guns were outlawed following the civil war.  Today, Nigeria has a robust drug trafficking trade shipping heroin and cocaine throughout the world.  It also serves as a flourishing hub for organized crime and student gangs.  Major piracy rings and bank fraud schemes reach well-beyond Nigeria’s borders into America.

 

David Hogg and his young anti-Second Amendment dream team who desire absolute peace in the United States would like nothing better than to make our country a parallel model to Nigeria, an end product of gun registration and subsequent confiscation.

 

Tell your Representative to ignore Hogg and his fatally flawed plan to rid America of important tools that guarantee safety, security, and sovereignty until Hogg studies history and geography and psychology.  He and his anti-Constitutional buddies may be less giddy.