"Acorn" Acorn - Not the Tree Kind

Acorn is one of the biggest scandals ever in this country, yet the mainstream media has basically ignored the story for a long time. When they start importing underage children for prostitution, it is time to show some interest.

We need to wake up to the fact that what they are calling news is nothing more than orchestrated propaganda. They pick out what they want to be news and make it the news. It in no way resembles what is happening in the world.

When the news media becomes an instrument of any party or administration or idea, it should set off loud alarm bells.

I am glad there are still some sources to get the facts from but, more and more, you have to search for those sources.

The Awakening

I'm not sure but I think some people are waking up to the antics of our present presidential administration. It's just my opinion but I think Mister Obama is all about Mister Obama. Not a day goes by that he is not on the television. It is not because he is making news but because he is using his position to get in front of the camera. There are several people I like but I don't want, even them, in my face all the time. What we need is less talk and some of the sort of action that will help our country. In this case, perhaps inaction is the best thing because I have not like his action so far.

We all know that the office of president usually reflects the country. In some cases, we may get what we deserve, good or bad. We have not exactly held the banner of doing right very high lately. I suppose Wall Street should be part of a free enterprise system but I DO NOT think they should be able to dictate the actions of government.

It is obvious, with only a brief read or listen, that giant corporations have not learned their lesson. They are back to the big bonuses and salaries (if they ever quit) only now it comes directly out of the taxpayers pocket. We can all expect much more attention from the IRS to pay for all this giveaway.

Out in the real world, if a person commits a crime, they go to court and to jail. An example of a crime is someone taking money from someone else by force. A blue jean clad, pick up driver gets arrested and is carted off to jail. If he tries to say he is innocent, he is slammed to the ground for resisting arrest. Well, that may be extreme. Turn to the Wall Street, Washington DC crowd and they are brought before Congress and given 57 years to say they are sorry and a new identity if they will tell on their mother.

I'm reading a book entitled The Law by Frederic Bastiat who wrote of a similar situation in old France. He warned against the government taking money from the people and being in charge of everything. He also warned against using the law to enforce government sanctioned crime. Of course, the government did not call it crime. It is a program if the government does it.

France was turning to socialism. Bastiat told of how socialism would progress into communism. I would add that in our case it will neither be called socialism nor communism. It will have some necessary name such as health care or fiscal reform. The result will be the same and that is the loss of freedom.

Those who would lead our country down this road that leads to destruction are not in a real big hurry. They can work on it through several generations (have they not been doing just that) until people have forgotten what freedom was like. The problem with freedom is that for it to work, people must respect the freedom of others and that is the problem. Many want freedom to do as they please without regard to its effect on others. That is not the purpose of freedom.

Many years ago someone made the statement "my freedom ends where another's freedom begins". Said another way: One persons rights end where another person's rights begin.

So while there are real problems in our nation, Washington is surrounded by a thick fog. That analogy should explain itself.

What happened to manners?

I left to go overseas and the world changed while I was gone.

I am not an outgoing person. I've always been shy and meeting people is most difficult for me. Speaking in public is equal to standing before a firing squad. Honestly, I felt more comfortable crawling under barbed wire with bullets flying over me than I do standing in front of a crowd.

Even with that dread of people, it has always been my feeling that I should be polite to these monsters. You know a please here, a thank you there, excuse me sir or ma'am. Open a door here and there, say 'May I help you.' if I was behind the desk. Just common words that make people feel comfortable.

Those things still happen here and there but they do not ring as true as they once did. For example "May I help you." is now said as a challenge when you have lingered too long in one place. "Excuse me" has a mean tone as if to say "Are you nuts or something?"

I'm not mister congeniality and I admit this 'knock-down, drag-out' world can make one mean at times but it seems that, in general, manners have gone out the window.

The boys at the grocery store even got it all figured out. If you got two small bags of cereal, they will 'may I help you' (mostly it's a grunt that is interpreted as 'you need help' -even a caveman can do it) but if you got ten bags with milk, juice and a poke of 'taters, they find something else to do in the back. Checker-outers have even gotten to the point of waiting for the customer to say thank-you so they can say 'your welcome'.

Being elderly nowadays means you are last in line and must plan a defensive game plan before going into a store. As in finding safe havens between stacks of soft drinks or diverting into the ladies underwear section to avoid getting run over or pushed aside. I always watch out for that bulldog snare beyond a buggy that says, 'I'm bad and I got the pounds to prove it.'

Well, it's a mean world. I'd say they can't help it but they could. Maybe they were not taught but they could learn if they wanted to be polite. Polite is just not popular. I thought it was a joke when I heard it at first but apparently people have taken the phrase 'nice guys finish last' as a replacement for the golden rule which, by the way, is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Thank You!

The Old Well

From the old house we lived in on the farm, it was a long walk for short legs to the well. It was located up past the first garden, about half way to the barn and corn crib. There was a farm road to cross to get to the well.

It had a little shed over it with a floor around the well. A box enclosed the well which was about four feet in diameter. The box would shake like there was an earthquake when we let the bucket down. Remembering, I'd say it was about 20 feet to the water. The sides of the well were of dirt. There was no way to get out if you fell in.

The windlass was used to haul up the full bucket. It was made of a log with an iron rod through the middle (more or less). The rod was crooked so all you had to do was turn it round and round and let the rope wind up around the log. When the bucket got within reaching distance, you leaned over and grabbed the handle and swung it to the edge of the box while holding onto the iron rod. If you accidentally turned loose of the rod (handle) the bucket would go back to the bottom or to the water surface with a big bang. It could damage the bucket so you tried to never let that happen. If it did happen, it was good to not have your fingers on the handle or try to reach and grab it. It could break fingers and arms. You could however slow the bucket by putting your hand on the log.

On wash-day, we might draw up dozens of buckets of water. It was a job that left your body one big ache. Bath water was the same if the river was too muddy or the water too swift.

The worst time was after dark when the water bucket got empty in the house and someone had to go get a bucket or two of water. Snakes were common on the farm. That is why we loved our dogs, they would attack a snake if it got close. Those buckets would be heavy for me now, I know they must have strained my arms back then.

I never fell into the well but I had a cousin who fell in another well about that time. He survived after his dad jumped in and held him above the water until someone could get a rope to them.

Nowadays, the wells are drilled and are too small for a person to fall in, but those old wells were dug by hand and were death traps if not treated with respect. Something to keep in mind while exploring old home sites.

Health Care Debate

In regard to the nation wide debate on Health Care, I must be myself and be skeptical. I have to ask myself: "What's in it for the Democrats including the President?" Do they want a feather in their cap for doing what others have tried and failed to do? Is it their snuggle up relationship with big health care organizations? What exactly has them so stirred up?

I doubt that they have suddenly developed a warmhearted feeling for all the poor people in the country. If they were so caring, they would not exempt themselves from restrictions they vote into law on the rest of us.

Even I know that the reason people cannot afford good care is because the cost is too high. It is too high because people are charging too much for everything. Now that took a lot of research.

Back when I was studying criminology, there was a course on white collar crime. One category in the study was on the medical field. They discussed the way patients are billed for charges. For example, you could charge $25 for swabbing a wound. If you split that action into several different actions, you can charge for the swab, the antiseptic, nurse fees, doctor's approval and the piece of gauze used to catch the excess antiseptic and make the charge say $125. So long as there is a different code for each process, it will fly.

Well, call me crazy but I think there are things that will go into that bill (the much debated health care bill) that will shock us when it is put into play. The end result will look nothing like what is being discussed. The end result will be that we, the consumer, will pay more (one way or the other) and we will have less control over our own life than ever before. On the 'bright' side, they will dope us up so we really don't care.

Why Write anyway - What's the Use?

Why keep on beating the keys when no one seems to be reading and certainly not buying to a profitable degree? I suppose it takes a case of the 'can't help its'. When something is in my mind that won't go away (if it wouldn't land me in jail), I have to write it down to get some peace.

Have you had a child interrupt you over and over while you were trying to do something? You try to continue your task but the child persist. Finally, you answer just so you can get on with the business at hand. Love those children but sometimes they can be, shall I say continuous. So, you take care of their business so you can get back to your business. A story can be much like that. It starts as an idea that may even seem foolish. Then, it just builds until, like steam in a boiling pot, it must escape.

One of my favorite authors, Frank Peretti, writes wholesome Christian novels and I think he has a series now, greatly impressed me with his story of his early years and his first book. He had failed to get it published and finally tossed it in the garbage can. His wife rescued the book which later sold millions of copies. Someone believed in him. The editors did not, at first, but his wife did and sometimes one is enough.

I cannot write like Mister Peretti. Nor can I write like any of the other famous authors that I respect greatly. Like all writers, each of us must be true to ourselves even in the face of failure or criticism.

When I wrote Harvest 2050 AD which is a free add on to Preserved Intellect, I felt injured by the words in the book. To think that humanity could bend to such evil deeds insulted my faith in people. Is it not better to cry snake and avoid the bite than to wait until after the damage is done? I make my stories fiction in the hope that someday they do not become historical facts. These are stories of science taking things beyond moral boundaries. They are not long stories for I wished to leave the darkness of the pages as soon as possible.

Transient was an escape for me from the darkest side of mankind to, what we think of, as ordinary life. It is sad that ordinary must include the tragedies that engulfed some of the characters. In life, even adults need heroes. I know I certainly do. I don't mean a perfect person to look to, rather a person who maintains high standards even during adversity. Tommy Bookmark faced danger, loss, had to delay his dream and grew old while duty held him captive. Yet, he gripped his cross with determination and found joy along the way.

Suppose there are no rewards for spending the hours it takes to pull a story together. Suppose the dreadful task of checking and rechecking the work is a waste of time. Then is it a story that should not have been told? Perhaps, one day, that one person will find that one thought in my books that changes their life for the better. Even if I could quit writing, I think I would still drum out the stories for the hope that they will somehow make a difference. A good difference in some one's life.

Privacy

Webster has decided to take the word privacy out of the dictionary with the next issue. The reason given was that there is no such thing as privacy. Just kiddin' but ain't it the truth?

The other day I was looking around to see if I could save money on my car insurance. I went to a site and filled in my name and address like they wanted and up popped every car I owned right down to the year. I had never done business with that company before. I also did a credit report just for kicks. The people who are checking my credit are the same people who send those junk mail / preapproved offers. (now spell check tells me preapproved is not in the dictionary - tell the mail man!)

I bought some auto parts and they wanted my phone number as usual. Up pops the size underwear I wear. Kiddin' 'bout that too but don't people just know too much about us.

You can be in the back yard, behind a row of hedges in the dark and if you trip, someone will ask you the next day if it hurt when you fell the other night.

I like the secret ballot we get to use at election time. Are you Republican or Democrat? Well, there goes my secrets. Then, you get letters thanking you for your support on your vote.

Some guy calls and says we noticed you gave such and such five years ago to help so and so. We'd like to ask you .... 'click'.

Yet will all this information sharing going on, you go someplace to get something taken care of, they still make you fill out those stupid forms. It's not because they need the information, they have it, they just want to see if you tell the same story this time.

Somebody told me the other day they pulled me up on a satellite.

Did you know hand held phones can be picked up on scanners? That's what I heard. I heard that legally, anything that goes out on the air waves is fair game. Ever wonder why your neighbor is mad at you? Call 911 and your house number goes out for anyone and everyone to hear. They probably think you are a fugitive.

Well, I need to go clean up the kitchen and put some clothes in the dryer. But you already knew that didn't you?

I am so convinced that people are listening that if I say anything in my house , even jokingly, that might be misunderstood or taken as a threat; I put in a disclaimer for those who are probably listening from across the road. I once held a Top Secret clearance, another reason for them to listen.

I'm sure that when I die, they will put a microphone in my casket to see if I talk in my sleep and tell some national secret.

Note: One of the question marks in this post is really a hidden camera, so quit frowning and sticking out your tongue. Yes, your hair looks fine and no that dress doesn't.....