Looking Through The Distorted Looking Glass

Finally, it's Saturday.  It was a long week.  Air conditioner after air conditioner.  Fixing.  Patching.  Re-wiring.  Repairing.  This is what summer brings.  And, in defense of summer's toll on my body and patience, there is the financial reward.  As long as I take the phone calls.  And show up.  And do the job.  It's actually pretty amazing how the precious dollar can motivate a man.  Or woman.  Or even a child.  I remember my grandpa used to pay me a dime to open the gate leading back to the barn in close proximity to the house we lived in.  Although I can barely remember the exact scene, I still remember how exciting that dime felt in the palm of my hand.  I guess Grandpa was a genius in that way.  Give a child a small example of work and the reward for that work and so begins a life of making money.  Because Grandpa also knew money would always be a factor in my future.  Or, he was really lazy and didn't want to get off that tractor to open the gate himself.  But I tend to go with my first theory.  Actually, I think it had more to do with love than anything else.  There was joy in his eyes watching the joy in mine when he handed me that dime.  From that early age, and even still today, I enjoy change in my pocket.  As long as there's a little change I'm not broke.

I guess that small lesson, repeated often, was one of many I learned early in life.  There were times I watched my father in pain from the efforts put forth in his work.  But even with the pain my father would still get up around 3 (or 4 - I couldn't read a clock back then) and do it all over again the next day.  My mom, even today approaching the 3/4 mark on a century, still feels pride from performing a hard day's work.  Those who surrounded me growing up, and still today, do not always confess to the hours and pain but there is that gleam in their eyes from a paycheck and completing another day.  Even when my shirt's soaked with sweat and my body's begging me to stop, I know there is the monetary and self-worth reward that awaits if I can just finish.  I believe, even from the creation of the world itself, man was designed to work and accomplish.  And there is fulfillment in working and accomplishment.  It is not our only role in life but is a crucial element in our existence.  It really does complete us.

I thought of this while working in a house yesterday.  Actually, a conversation I held with the tenant brought me to revelations about myself and those around me.  She (her identity will remain anonymous due to my lack of knowledge of her name) asked me my thoughts on the hiring practices of several entities such as the fire department and police department.  She wanted to know why black men couldn't get jobs.  Her mind was on Ferguson, Missouri.  Her first question regarded the hiring of prison guards. She also made reference to the knowledge that her own black community had many young, black men who weren't working.  She also acknowledged the fact that many, and she stressed the point that it was "all" the young men she knew - still speaking of the young black men - did not even have an interest in working.  I don't know if this had to do with her confusion over my ethnicity (it took some convincing on my part to let her know I wasn't a black man myself although I am very tan right now and my hispanic lineage attests to that) but she thought my opinion had some relevance.  In her defense she was over eighty years old and her eyesight may have not been that accurate.  I could see she was referring to the lack of black men and woman in certain prominant roles in our community.  My answer, after my declaration of non-blackness, was interesting to her.  As a business owner and sole-proprieter, I would not hire someone who was not qualified to do a good job.  I don't care what skin color they possessed.  What I care about is what that person is CAPABLE of doing.  I asked her if her house was on fire, and the ability of the fire fighter was insufficient, would it be important if they were black?  If the man or woman who showed up to enforce the laws of our community and state could not prevent her safety and welfare from being harmed, would she care if they were black or white?  Throughout the conversation we discussed her role in the NAACP and her involvement with many other groups and meetings within the community.  She could not understand why her seven black boys were all in relationships with white women.  "Why" she asked, "can't black girls marry black men?"  I offered her examples of reports from my daughter, while a student in a public high school, of the rudeness and loudness and overall anti-social behavior from black girls who got into fights.  The amount of fights, over boys and social standing, were predominantly from black girls.  At no point in our conversation was there rudeness or self-righteousness on either side.  She really wanted to know, from my perspective, why there were such problems.  On several occasions she mentioned the lack of desire for many of the black youth (she was mostly mentioning the men) on obtaining regular work or careers.  Sports and fame were the focus.  Why was that?  On many occasions she mentioned the lack of teaching black history.  I told her that in recent times, there has been a diluge of information on black history - especially within the schools.  Yes, I agreed, that in years past, there was problems in the disparity of black versus white in this area.  But, as I informed her, if you pay attention you can see many leadership positions held by people of color and female gender now.  It is not a dire and hopeless situation to succeed, for a young black man or woman, as evidenced years ago.  There is hope and opportunity for anyone.   I also mentioned this before breaking back to work on her evaporator coil - When a young man or woman hears nothing more than how little opportunity, or how the world prevents them from achieving success, can they ever succeed?  If they are surrounded by others of their own race, who continually see nothing but race, can they ever see themselves as nothing but a doomed black man or black woman?  My family and neighbors always demonstrated success around me as a child.  I saw many who thought it was just normal to get a job and succeed.  Whether I was teased or insulted as a child because of my lineage and ethnicity did not force me into a "poor me" way of living.  The question, I told her, that really needed to be discussed in her meetings with local leaders of the black community and others is simple - "How can we change from within rather than expecting and demanding that others change?"  You can never succeed or work or accomplish anything if it's not within yourself to do that.  And it starts at home.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.

I Hate The Backseat

As with many great thoughts and analogies that occur in the grey matter that lies within the perimeters of my skull, a recent exchange of political thoughts for the week brought about one of my best analogies for the period of chaos we are in.  My great friend, perhaps best friend - we'll call him CJ for now, was telling me his take on the recent events in our state capital and the national news.  I shot back with my own tidbits of intelligent, incoherent ramblings.  And then, like a bolt of static electricity, it finally hit me what I feel like with the current administration in the White House.  Here's a brief summary:

"Do you remember when you were little and you were in the backseat of the car and suddenly Dad takes an unfamiliar exit?  And you're traveling out of state in unfamiliar territory?  And all of a sudden the talk stops and it gets really quiet in the car?  You sense something is really wrong but there really is no indication of it?  And Mom just keeps giving your Dad these looks and he just keeps looking forward?  Somewhere, out of a sense of your own well-being, you ask Dad that first question - 'Where are we?'  Suddenly, out of frustration you hear Dad lose it with the 'Just be quiet!!!'  Now you can really feel the tension as you see the knuckles start to turn white on the steering wheel.  Then Mom ask the second worse question she could possibly ask - 'Are you sure we should have taken that exit?'  The silence from Dad is so loud your ears pop.  And you're in the backseat with no idea what state you're even in because you were reading a book or listening to music or you were doing any kind of mindless brain exercises because you still have a thousand years before you're supposed to get there.  That really freaked out feeling is overwhelming.  You're not even legal to drive yet but suddenly you're feeling a little bit more in control of the car than the driver.  Every part of self-preservation is telling you to jump from the car but shock has immobilized your muscles.  And then, as if the situation wasn't bad enough, your brother or sister who always seems to throw your dad over that final edge of the abyss into madness, decides to take his or her headphones off and looks around.  And then asks the absolute worse question imaginable - 'Are we lost?'  Now, your dad, who's been fighting the impulse of murderous rage, finally unloads with the profanity and expletives that always causes your mom to do that complete body cringe.  Now she's in complete 'momma bear' mode.  'Why don't you just pull over and ask someone for directions?'  Now mom might be able to budget food for a complete month with the resources for two weeks but in this area she's a wee bit lackin' in the common sense area herself.  Dad yells back a few more un-repeatable words and she yells back his name using all three names.  You know the situation's bad and you just wish dad would stop somewhere and just ask directions but silence seems to be the safest route.  Finally, when the gas guage becomes the great authority, dad gives in to reality and knows that he must pull in somewhere for gas and directions.  Pride has created a fifty mile detour in the wrong direction.  And you dare not repeat the events of this story until your own children are sitting there with 'pa pa' and everyone has a good laugh about it.  But it takes a couple of decades to see the humor." 

We all have stories like that.  Our parents, or grandparents, or foster parents, or whoever, have let their pride and self-importance lead them down a path that they just couldn't possibly turn around from.  I remember how much I hated that backseat as I got older.  As the years have passed, and I've been in the driver seat myself for more years then I care to remember, I have learned on a few occasions that it is better to stop and ask for help. Especially if I have people in my car that I'm responsible for.  Now, multiply that scenario by a few billion and see if pride or self-importance are any kind of excuse for the trip we're on now.  And watch as more and more of your own loved ones keep eyeing the door handle as the vehicle we're in keeps running down this wrong path.  Like I said, I hate the backseat.  And mom (the other leaders in this country and the media) just can't get dad to stop and ask for directions.  And even he knows we're running out of gas. My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.

Knowledge And Knowing Are Two Different Things

Hope.  It's a convenient word for some.  Heck, some even use it for a campaign slogan.  Who can forget the infamous slogan "Hope with Dope" back in 1942?   Christopher Dope lost that year but it was a rather catchy phrase.  Even in recent times "hope" has inspired millions to elect someone to office.  "Hope and Change" will not be soon forgotten.  Or has it?  You see, I noticed something about this slogan that seems to be further from a reality than ever before.  Let's take a look at these two words that brought a country together in a campaign that polarized a nation like never before.  (Not absolutely positive on the "like never before" but I only say that to give it the emphasis it deserves.)  On one side there was republicans.  Or as some of you may know them, the racists.  And on the other side was the democrats - the enlightened ones.  Now back in 2006 and 2007, a lot of you didn't realize (or it was a highly guarded secret) that every republican was a racist.  Hatred for the men and women of African descent (I realize that most black men and women in the United States are born in the United States but the term African American must receive it's authority from somewhere) has always been evident in the republican party.  The image of the lynched man hanging from a tree can be found in most campaign posters if you look hard enough.

It's just in the DNA of most racist men and women who hide behind cute little sayings such as "less government" and "promote small business" and "flat tax".  The problem with racism, for many years, has been the discrimination of good, highly qualified candidates from elected office.  It's rare to see men such as Mr. Jessie Jackson, Jr. who attain higher office and then unfairly get thrown into jail on some trumped up charges.  So, against all odds, and with very little help from Hollywood or the media, the honorable Barrack Hussein Obama was crowned. And when I say crowned, it wasn't really a crowning.  It was more of an exaltation.  The future for America/United States of was bright and unlimited.  His office would be one filled with transparency and idealism.  No more racial divide.  No more knit picking and in-fighting between the parties.  And transparency.  Lots of transparency.  (No more Bush secrecy and such.)   It was an awe-inspiring moment that dragged on for a few years.  To be honest I yawned a lot at all of the excitement.  Actually, to be honest, I've been anti-Obama since 2006.  And to be honest, I've wanted his POLICIES to fail.  Let me repeat that - I've wanted his POLICIES to fail.  You see, for those who yell racism at every speech and every other sentence, they really don't understand how someone like me, a mixed breed of Hispanic, Indian, Irish, German and perhaps twenty others I don't know about, could oppose the exalted royalty.  It's his agenda and ideology, stupid.  I oppose just as strongly the other men and women, white, black, Asian, or whatever their DNA happens to make them, that promote the failure of the United States.  And what really chaffs my butt is the misuse of the word "racism" to hide failure.  And un-accountability.  And criminal conduct.  And the royal treatment to million dollar vacations every other week.  I may have exaggerated on that last one but not by much.

But lately, I've noticed something else.  Something chaffing the nether unmentionable regions.  The ability of a president to know so little about anything going on.  Benghazi, the IRS, the Secret Service, the Fast and Furious program to name just a few of so many. And now, the latest "I was not aware" scandal - the wait lists (or as the common person might call them - "death row" that our service people are put on awaiting treatment guaranteed through the government run health care system for veterans.  He (obama) was not aware until the media reported it.  Were you aware before the President of the United States was of this situation?  It's possible if you know a veteran.  Apparently community organizers don't know a lot of veterans.  It just never came up during any of his golf outings or security briefings.

If only he had a staff of advisors who were aware of such things.  If only the teleprompter had said something.  But no - he just doesn't know or is aware until CNN or MSNBC mentions it.  Clueless is not at the top of my list for desired traits of the man who holds the briefcase with the nuclear missile launch codes.  You know what I mean?  If he really doesn't know about anything except what the press allows him to know then maybe I should move to a country where the press has a little bit more freedom like Venezuela or Cuba.  Is the President of the United States actually that unaware of what's going on in his own government and other areas of vital concern or is he just stupid. Or is he so aware that he is criminally negligent?  This is a question every one in this world must ask themselves.  And I say world because, as I mentioned before, Obama, the clown, is in charge of a nuclear arsenal.  He is in charge of many things.  If Barrack Obama actually figures out the numbered lock on the briefcase we could be in trouble.  I guess this makes me a racist.  So, if you're like me, and you don't like the policies and agenda of the most mis-informed man on the planet, you should check yourself into the next available program that teaches diversity and understanding.  'Cause you be a racist too.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  If you want to contact me I'll probably be volunteering at some KKK meeting somewhere and unavailable.   

Just Because You Can't See Them Doesn't Mean You Can't See Them

Superstitions. Make-believe.  Hallucinations.  Magic.  Fairy tales.  I've heard christianity and religion described many ways.  Some of you reading right now feel strongly about the "non-existence" of a god, gods, or God.  Some of you feel pretty strongly about the non-existence of the devil or angels or demons or anything "other" worldly.   The fantastic thing about a person's personal belief is that they totally own it.

If I owned a foreign country or was some type of dictator ruling a land far, far away, and said to my people that I declare this belief of mine as the belief all people in the land should share, it's not really a personal faith, is it?  I can't really force any belief, in a faith, without invalidating the essence of faith itself.  A person has to totally own his or her own personal faith.  It must be an individual's choice.  For myself, as an individual clear of any known mental defect, being totally coherent and rational in my thinking, I choose to believe and have faith.  It's my choice.

It wasn't out of guilt or pleasure that I made that decision so many years ago.  It was one I made logically and emotionally.  It was pretty personal.  And it was a simple question really.  And when I say simple I'm speaking of length of words.  It was a brief question but it determined the rest of my life really.  The question asked of me was only four words. It didn't come quickly. In fact, it was after many hours and many days of reading and studying the bible that I had to ask myself the question.  It has lead me through many other questions later in life from that point.

One example was just yesterday.  I was on the interstate about a mile from the exit I had to take.  The car in front of me was driven by an older lady (as I would find out when she turned and looked back at me) traveling to some unknown destination by me.  She was in the right lane, which coincidentally was the same lane needed for the exit I had to take.  For those of you familiar with interstate travel, speeds driven on the interstate can range between 0 and 90 depending on the city and if it's Friday around quitting time.  Traffic at this particular time was moving along at a comfortable pace and was flowing rather fluidly.  As I followed her car I notice my speed was gradually slowing down.  My speed had went from around 70 mph down to 55 mph.  I noticed many cars behind me began zipping around into the next lane and I swear they were shaking their heads at me like I was the problem.  Well, I shook my head as strongly as possible and energetically began pointing at the car ahead of me.  "It's their fault.  It's their fault.  It's not mine." I was screaming in my own self-defense.  (I made that last part up but it was happening in my head, none-the-less.)

So what stopped me from ramming the back of the car in front of me?  What prevented me from speeding up and entering the lane next to this hazardous driver and pushing her car off the interstate?  I do believe it is in those moments that something inside me prevents me from making such rash decisions.  Now, for those of you who are atheists or just don't really agnostically care, you might argue that common sense or years of experience prevented me from committing vehicular manslaughter.  But I disagree.  Because I know deep down inside there is the potential to make the wrong decision and do the worst possible thing in any given circumstance.  I don't know how many times I have been given a little push in the right direction in my life but I know something extraordinary is at work within me.  I know that my spirit has recognized true beauty in the world surrounding me.  I've been blessed beyond what I'll ever know just because of that decision I made many years ago.  At some point, when I feel a little bit more comfortable with our writer/reader relationship, I'll fill you in on more of my sordid past.  But for now just trust me when I say that I am a sinner. I've made mistakes.

So, what was the question I answered so many years ago?  What lead me down this path I'm currently stumbling down every once in awhile?  Four words really.  "Do You Believe This?  If you can ask yourself that question after reading the bible than you'll have to answer it.  It may not be at that exact moment but when the time comes you'll know it in your heart.  And that is where He resides.  I do firmly believe He took residence within me so many years ago and there is nothing I can say or do that can convince you. You can call me a liar, deceived, delirious, or insane.  It doesn't change the fact that it's my own personal faith.  So, if you're like the millions who haven't asked yourself that question, or like one of the millions who have but were not absolutely confident on answering the question at that moment, give it a try again.  Pick up a bible and read.  Truly try to ask the question - "Do You Believe This?" and only you can answer.  For me the answer was one of the hardest answers I've had to give because I do believe the consequences are eternal.  But I do believe it.  And He's been faithful to me no matter how little I've shown my own faithfulness to be.  And today, Easter Sunday, seems to be a pretty good time to reflect on His love and grace on my life.  So yes, I do believe this.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  You can contact me at rueuhy@gmail.com.  Happy Easter!!

When I Was Your Age ...

Kids just don't understand, do they?  The easy, simple life they have compared to when we were their age.  I remember helping my dad chop wood and stacking firewood.  There are a few that probably still do that but the numbers are probably a lot less.  If I wanted some money for clothes or whatever, I de-tassled corn in the summer for a local seed corn company.  If I wanted to call a friend my mom would ask "Is it the same prefix or is the phone company gonna charge me 10 cents a minute?"  I would have to sit in a kitchen chair and I couldn't walk around to talk.  Because the receiver had a cord attached to it connecting it the handset. Life was tough.  As a kid I had to ride the big yellow schoolbus.  Sometimes, on a hot summer day, the stench of fresh vomit would waft through the air and fill the sinus cavities.

Life was tough.  But I will admit, in some aspects, kids today have it a teensy, weensy bit tougher.  I started thinking about the challenges facing kids these days and perhaps I'm a little quick with my own self-pitying. I don't remember ever being scared of the possibility of someone walking onto the school grounds and emptying a magazine from a semi-automatic.  I just don't remember being scared like that.  I also don't remember gang warfare taking place.  But I am from a rural town.  Back then, if kids went hunting, it might not be such a shocking thing to find an unloaded shotgun in the back windshield of a pick-up truck.  A lot of kids knew how to hunt or had at least experienced it.  But, as I said, I grew up in a rural town.

I also remember there wasn't so much confusion about who we were.  I'm sure there was a few children who felt some confusion about their sexuality or gender.  But it wasn't at the epidemic levels we seem to read about in this day and age.  I never felt like I had to take a stand on marriage equality. I, as well as a high percentage of my classmates and kids all over the United States, understood dad was in charge.  Mom never really disciplined.  But she would insure us of the fact that Dad would be home and taking care of it.  They were a tag team of sorts. In all those years of growing up, the word "divorce" was mentioned so few times that I didn't really even understand what it meant.  When two people married it was a life sentence.  Usually without parole.  Marriage was just a simple staple that involved a man and woman united.  And I don't ever remember any stories, local or distant, of a father leaving his wife for another man.  It would not be until I was 20+ years old that I would even see a public display of same-sex anything.  Actually I was pretty shocked and confused when I saw two girls kiss at a bar in Los Angelos.  Now children have to decide what they are and who everyone else is by junior high.  Just doesn't seem very fair to put that kind of pressure on 12 year olds.  The roles of gender and sexuality should not have to be a subject discussed or taught in school.  I guess that makes my role a homophobic.  You gotta be something nowadays.

Even school lunches aren't simple anymore.  It used to be a mom could pack a lunch for her child and let little Johnny or Suzy take some aspirin with them.  Now even that's regulated.  If it's even allowed.  Many schools don't even allow a home-packed school lunch to enter the cafeteria.  If it's not momma-Michelle Obama approved, it can't be allowed to endanger the health of your own child.  Reports are coming in that half a kiwi and a bun with some type of veggie burger is an approved alternative to sliced ham on white bread.  Fortunately, the youngest children will begin their programming with the highest from of common core math that can be handled.  Those children will be brilliant.  I've looked into the eyes of common core teachers and there are traces of souls there.  What was once filled with the love of knowledge and teaching has been thoroughly replaced with a paycheck and a week off every month.  (I exaggerate and I do know there are a lot of teachers out there who hate common core just as much as everyone else.)  The problems are many, but some kids, somehow, will survive the newest, and bestest ideas surfacing from the muddy waters of the federal education system.  There will be a few.  The odds tells us so.

So, if these children survive the violence, the gender and sexuality questions, and the school nutritional programs without o.d.'ing on over the counter medicines, they will have years of paying off college tuition and books.  And that is only a drop in the bucket compared to the taxes and penalties and the "personal responsibility payments" they have a life time to look forward to.  The amount of money to survive in this freshly cultivated "barren" wasteland of economic fatigue imagined by a progressive institution of higher excellence through welfare and social programs will just not be there for our future income earners.  When I entered my senior year I saw possibility. I saw hope.  I envisioned my life could be middle class or riches.  I just don't think I could realistically have that same outlook today.  But that's the beauty of the human spirit.  No matter how much the government and progressive teams of idealists yearn to squash capitalism and industrial achievement, the young can imagine and dream.  They can overcome.  As long as the television, music, and other forms of entertainment don't put them on a path of assured stardom.  There are only a few stars in the music industry.  There are only a few millionaires playing sports.  The rest of us have to achieve our dreams without multi-million dollar contracts.  We have to have a work ethic and the knowledge to achieve.  I just didn't know how easy I had it over our youth of today.  The worst part is - they're smart enough to understand the world they are entering.  And there are just too many less old fashioned minds out there to explain it to them.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog. Shout out to me at rueuhy@gmail.com 

The Reckoning

We live in the world we choose.  A teacher told me that many years ago.  I didn't understand it then.  I did to some extent but being a teenager does limit you on life experience.  I understand it a little better now.

Back then, in the early 80's of the past century, (I'm still getting used to the idea of a new century) life was different for our country.  For someone like me, in rural town USA, one could not really envision the events unfolding today.  Surveillance of citizens, government run amok in our personal affairs, laws on the books that hinder personal liberty and freedom.  Federal agencies so corrupt and powerful that citizens have become naturally afraid of their own government - these were the possibilities of a "Big Brother" era.  It was fiction from a George Orwell novel.  "But Rueuhy, we are far from a total totalitarian form of government" the bleating sheep cry from the comfort of their section 8 housing.  The same sheep wait dutifully in the welfare lines and cling to their EBT cards.  The sheep walk quietly to their minimum wage jobs and dream of that factory, that is now in decay, opening once again.  The sheep didn't choose to become sheep - it is just an economic and socialist form of evolution that converted them.  The media helped shaped them.  The schools helped form them.  The jails have room for a few more.  We live in a world today that seems so normal in its chaotic rituals of season cliffhangers on tv and cinematic remakes of once beloved movies.  Churches are for those who aren't smart enough to listen to science and old age should never lead to death.  We have lost faith in God (not all of us but an alarming trend is in place) and have chosen the material comforts in His place.  And our elementary, junior and senior public highschools are quickly establishing themselves as the new parents of socialism in America.  For those of you that haven't had the joy of his/her young offspring reciting the new Federal and State manifesto in all it's glory, just ask a young 'un to explain the procedures to handle bullying.  Or the new grading curves in place.  Ah, the joy of dumbing down the future citizens.  We must be tolerant now, to the point of acceptance of everyone's flag, whether or not the U.S. flag gets dragged through the mud.  If 2% of the population is homosexual then that is obviously a majority and can no longer be viewed as an abomination in the eyes of the lord who sits on the education board at state and federal levels.  Or the federal judge who decides against morality and fairness in his/her interpretation of the constitution.  Because that old outdated scrap of paper is a living, breathing document that really should be put out of its misery.  We live in fun times.

It is the thought of our beloved country, and the damnation at the hands of its leaders throughout the government agencies and bureaucracy they've created that leads me to this thought:  we are at a crossroads. As the people of this country face lower incomes, or even non-existent incomes and staggering implications of rulings and laws that filter into their peaceful existence and will to be happy, everyone will have to make a choice.  And I see a final reckoning which will take place shortly after the first quarter of 2015 when people go to file their taxes.  We are at a precipice that no one really wants but have been pushed towards.  As we survey the fiscal and legal cliff that has been forced upon our individual and business enterprises with the advent of a "Personal Responsibility Payment" and employment requirements from the AFA (affordable care act) known as Obamacare, the final push will be felt when we file our 2014 taxes.  Men and women who have built their businesses (yes, THEY built their businesses) with their own hands and self-preservation, enter into bankruptcy and financial ruin - there will be a reckoning.  As the father watches his children go hungry because he had to choose between healthcare and eating - there will be a reckoning.  As the government uses its long arm or force (known simply as the IRS), the little people - the unknown 99% - will face government like never before, and there will be a reckoning.  As I've said before to anyone who would listen - "You can regulate and delegate to the masses but watch out when they can't work or feed themselves."  There is a reckoning coming.

Ever wonder why there is so much media coverage for anyone who sees gun control for the masses as the only solution to a few who have used guns for assault on public institutions?  It is not the mental illness of a handful that gives the government the right to revoke a constitutional right from millions.  It is simpler than that.  The government knows when it's outnumbered.  Take away the only defense a citizen has and you've given yourself free rein.  So the sheep are expected to line up at tables and "register" their arms they legally possess.  It's simple really.  When the time comes, and the chaos erupts, the government really needs to know where to go and take away the people's only real defense against enslavement.  For some of us it's as blatant as a census bureau worker showing up at a house and asking the resident who they have health insurance coverage through.  Or it's as blatant as a government requiring knowledge of all your assets and debts through a "tax filing" for every legal business and citizen.  Or it's simply as blatant as our country's leaders publicly lying to our faces about keeping our healthcare coverage 30+ times in pushing an un-read bill through congress.  There will be a reckoning.  Hopefully your common sense is stronger than the sheep who has the faded "Hope and change" bumper sticker half scraped off their bumpers.  Sheep tend to follow their leader over any fiscal cliff.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  If you would like to compare notes please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com   

A Peaceful Suffering

I basically have two rules in my life.  There is no particular order to them.  In fact, they usually intertwine. Here they are -

1.  I am what I am.
2.  I do what I do.

For many years these rules have served me well.  Have I made mistakes?  Well, of course I have.  Do I have regrets?  Does a bear spit in the woods?  Of course I have regrets.  Have I been married a few times?  Rule #2 has a lot to do with that one.  But yes, even though there have been mistakes and regrets and hardship and pain, for the most part I've lived a full and somewhat productive life.  I've lived and I don't feel like looking back at my life and sighing a lot.  I'm very grateful for the experiences and accomplishments that have come my way.  There was music.  A little dancing.  Some really weird foods.  I've seen magnificent beauty that reminds me there is something so much greater than me.  I've been saved physically and mentally.  I've been redeemed spiritually.  If this is it it's been quite the ride.  But I'm pretty sure there's a few more days ahead of me.  Not 100% sure but it does seem likely.  If I die tonight I have hope for my eternal soul.  Some of you, I would even dare to say a majority, still feel like there is so much you want out of life.  Even a fear of dying.  Because you're just not sure what is beyond that last breath.  I have no great words of wisdom to convince you that you will live on beyond death.  That is something a person must seek out and define on their own.  All I can do is tell you that I have faith for a voyage yet to come for myself.  This is what it boils down to for me - I asked the question.  The question is better left to each individual because it really is one of the most personal questions a person can ask of themselves.  In fact, I can't really define what the question is. The important thing is that you want to ask it.  When that question, that undefinable question, is important enough to ask, each one finds his own question.  And more importantly the answer.  I would even hypothesize that the question really is a deep inner need that can't be defined by human language.  It sits inside festering away at a person's soul until the foul stench causes nausea.  A person can't help but to begin to seek that undefinable truth.  The question lingers there on the tip of the tongue.  For me it could be summarized by futility in life.  Was death a greater alternative?  Not by means of suicide but the absence of what defined normalcy for me.  Could I live with a life void of being totally real?  As I said, the answer wasn't as important as finding the right question. There is a symbolic precipice a man journeys to as he struggles with the trappings that a life has to offer.  If fulfillment is never within reach, is it possible?  Can the material ever really comfort?  Is total trust only found in total abandonment?  I really didn't mean to philosophize but there it is - a journey in a hindered condition.  The closest I can come to really explaining what I'm talking about is the man who injures his arm and asks the doctor if he'll ever play the piano again without knowing how to in the first place.  Do we give up before we give out?  Is the world a limited idea or the entrapment of our possibilities?  I guess, and speak of only myself, there comes a point in a man or woman's life when he or she inexplicably attains an equilibrium with existence.  A realization that life, no matter how complicated and extreme it can be, is negotiable.  And navigational.  To allow love and at the same time to not deny it.  A fortitude of solitude found in your existence deep within the chaos of a society.  Will peace come to you or will you come to peace?  I guess it never truly envelopes us but occasionally our heads hit the pillow at night and the mind doesn't continue in some looped replay of the day.  You merely fall asleep because you can.  And we welcome the rest for we are delightfully weary.  That is the welcomed rest that many seek but don't realize it can be caught.  It just has to become the possible.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Email if you want at rueuhy@gmail.com

Keeping Up Appearances

Warning: the following post may contain numbers and facts that may cause nausea and headaches.  Parental discretion is advised.

Why does the United States spend money that it really doesn't have?  Why does our federal government and state governments (I'm particularly concerned with Illinois) seem to be driving our economy's into ruin?  Is there any way to stop it?  I have the answers to these and so much more. So, before we proceed, go to your liquor cabinet and pour yourself a long, tall one. You'll need it.

For several years, I've followed tale after tale of conspiracy theories about our present economic picture.  I've heard stories that would drive a sane man into hopeless despair over his future security.  I've researched different theories on the US dollar and it's future place as the world reserve currency.  I have seen data on analysis of future predictions for United States and Chinese gold holdings that paint a desperate picture for the future of this country (United States).  It is not a pretty one.  Recently, while clicking on articles on websites that lead to other links to other websites that lead to paid infomercials that lead to "limited time only" deals on newsletters, I found a little truth that leads to a bigger truth. And that truth is this, the United States really doesn't have much gold left in the bunker at Fort Knox.

Here's a brief summary - every month the US commerce department produces a report on the imports and exports of the United States detailed in a document labeled FT900.  According to a man named Jeff Opdyke, this report clearly states that the United States has been exporting much more gold than it has been importing. So much more that an audit of the holdings of the Federal Reserve is in dire need but all attempts to audit the gold in Fort Knox have resulted in failure.  There has not been a audit conducted establishing the actual physical gold quantities in Fort Knox for decades.  In the meantime, without any established confirmation of current reserve holdings, the gold holdings of the United States has seen a significant decline from the 1950's from a wealthy 20,500 tons of gold (yes - that's tons) to a level in 1972 reported at 8500 tons.  According to Mr. Opdyke, editor of the Soverign Investor publication, the reported level of gold held in reserve in the United States is close to the same levels reported in 1972.  With a loss reported each month in gold exports, how could the United States maintain levels reported back to the 70's.

The answer is simple - we really don't have much gold in reserve in the United States.  So the question that you must ask yourself and your elected officials is this - what backs the currency now used in a fiat currency we all currently use?  Without any real wealth backing the promise seen on every dollar the US mint mints, what gives the US dollar its value? As Mr. Opdyke tells us, and with which I totally agree, the US dollar only holds value as long as the world trusts the government of the United States.  If you take a moment, right now, and pull out a treasury bill you currently (hopefully) hold in your purse or wallet right now, the only thing that gives that dollar bill any value is a promise, from the government, that it's actually worth something.  If the United States suddenly revealed that coffers are empty, what trust is there?  Why not conduct an audit of the gold holdings held in Federal Reserves? The reason is simple - realization by the people represented by thugs and liars would be calamitous.  All h-e-double hockysticks would break out.  According to Mr. Opdyke, the Chinese do not make such reports of the their gold reserves except for every three years.  At the current rate of their reporting, a new report for the Chinese wealth of gold should be produced this month (April 2014).  The estimated net holdings of the Chinese government in gold has been estimated at five times that of the United States.  There is currently a push by other influential world economies and governments to move away from the US dollar as the world reserve currency.  With this possibility, a very real possibility based upon the upcoming gold report by the Chinese, the US economy would be driven into chaos filled with double digit unemployment and ultra-high inflation.  The de-valuation of the US dollar would quickly erupt into the printing of currency by the treasury to try to stop inflation. Toilet paper would hold more worth.  Even the crap on used toilet paper would be worth more.

So there's the possibility.  Which leads me to the why.  I'm a big fan of the "why".  I just love knowing.  And this is my best intelligent guess to the "why" on United States federal and state level spending.  Keeping up appearances.  Why would so much money be poured into losing campaigns for such winning programs as "Cash for Clunkers" and green energy initiatives?  Why would our government conduct such heavy spending into promoting a losing proposition such as "healthcare for all" with the advent of Obamacare?  Why even push for Obamacare?  Why bail out using close to a trillion dollars of easily printed money back in 2008?  Why are we spending money that everyone knows has no real value?  It's a big heaping pile of illusion.  Keeping up appearances -For some of you, you'll recognize the the reference Keeping Up Appearances as a title to a popular British television show.  If you have never seen this BBC produced comedy sitcom from the early 90's I highly recommend it.  If ever there was a mirror image of the madness of the federal government, this is it.  The star of the show,  Hyacinth Bucket, is a woman on a mission.  To consistently produce an image of wealth and austerity and class. A woman who believed in refined selections and pretensions vastly surpassing any reality life threw her.  Her roots were humble but the life she chose to portray to her audience (anyone who came through her door or lived beyond that door) was a life of decadence and eloquence.  When she answered the phone (if she must) her formal and ladylike presence could be heard through the receiver with her classic "The Bucket' residence - the lady of the house speaking" always informing the caller of far too much.  Arrogance and self-disillusionment.  A higher standard of life than her poor husband Richard could really afford.  Her friends and neighbors easily saw through the charade but never thoroughly confronted her. The biggest difference is Hyacinth did not own her own money printing press.  That's a shame.  The show could have shown us a beautiful take on education and healthcare.  Perhaps even a socialist tint of charity to all of those with far less elitism.  Yes, keeping up appearances is all some of us really have that's of worth.  All you really need is a pen and a phone.  And a title of royalty.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  For charitable donation to keep up my appearances please email me at  rueuhy@gmail.com.

Impulses And True Values

Twenty years ago, life was a lot different for us.  There was no internet bill.  Or cell phone bill (for a majority of us).  Life seemed a lot slower.  For me, money was extremely tight.  I never really carried more than $20 on me because that was all I really had and that was before all the bills got paid.  Answering machines still had micro cassette tapes but a few were digital.  I was still buying cd's at the store if, and a lot of the times it was a big if, they happened to have the copy I wanted.  There was no "online" store to browse.  You really had to want it and you really had to look for it.  The Amazon was a tropical location that someone would have to travel to see or you might come across some documentary on PBS.  There was no bidding wars on Ebay because that little jewel hadn't been created yet.  No one except Craig's friends knew who he was or had even seen Craigs' List.  If you wanted to work on a car or build an addition to your house, you had to buy a manual printed on paper or know someone who knew how to if you personally didn't have those skills.  There was no helpful tips you could get from YouTube.  And remember how mad you would get when someone wasn't kind and didn't rewind that VHS tape you were ready to watch?  There were no DVD's or Blue-Rays.  Today, if you happen to remember an old movie, a quick search online can produce the movie for you in a downloadable format.  Twenty years ago iPod's were still a vision in Steve Jobs head. And all your phone did was make calls.  Forty years ago, if I made a phone call, I would have to ask my parent's permission first.  Then I would have to remember the phone number or look it up in a local phone book.  Back then, the white pages took up a lot more of the book then the yellow pages.  Instead of speaking a name for voice dial to dial, I had to place a single finger in a rotary dial and turn it clockwise for each separate digit.  Rumor has it, even many more years ago, all you had to do was pick up the receiver and some gal named Thelma would "patch" you through to your neighbor if she knew she was home.  Times have changed and I've become impatient.  We've all become impatient.  Because "here's the thing", back then we really didn't have a lot of options.  The amount of options we have today are so extreme that we complain if our cell phone doesn't come in the color we want.  Anyone remember being able to actually read a menu up on the board above the counter at a fast food restaurant in less than a minute?  In some places, there's five or more options for your salad.  YOUR SALAD!!  And fries use to be just fries.  Ordering was pretty simple back in 90's too.  You didn't have a more expensive option of the "extra value" meal either.  We have so many options to choose from that half our life is just choosing things now.  Have you been in a Super Walmart lately?  I actually feel worn out after ten minutes in Walmart because my mind is calculating all those low prices and I have this internal debate on how I could pass up on that neat little item that some factory in China produced for a few pennies but they only want to charge me $1.99 for it.  And I know in advance it's a waste of money.  And it will be put in a corner somewhere and probably thrown away in a year or two.  So I don't buy it.  Not anymore.  If 2008 and beyond taught us anything, it's to reign in our impulse buying.  I guess that's why I hate trips to Walmart or any store for that matter.  It's an internal argument I go through staving off that impulse to satisfy some urge or desire for some material thing I didn't even have before I walked through the store doors.  And I think my eyes have a problem with all the information overload. The next time you walk into such a store take a moment to stand inside by the entrance and just look out over the hundred's of thousands of products waiting for you.  And then remember all you need is bread.  Or milk.  Just walk in and go directly to the bread.  Don't hesitate at the clothing department.  Don't suddenly remember there's a new model out for the Roku.  Just head back to the bread department and then spend ten minutes looking over the twenty selections available.  You see what I'm saying.  Sometimes, as I pull into the 100 acre parking lot and take a look at the building it seems similar to some ancient behemoth lying in wait for it's victims.  And then I feel like I'm some little sacrificial fool purposely heading to my own demise. I just never dreamed that old beast would be a huge yellow smiley face offering low prices everyday.  But we have come a long way since cassette tapes and 8-tracks. How wonderful life is...  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  For discount coupons and informercials please contact me at rueuhy@gmail.com

Noah And The Whale

"When a director with religious views makes a movie for a political view, the audience is the one who suffers."  - Rueuhy (just now said that)

*************   Spoiler Alerts   **************

1.  Lot's of water.
2.  Noah is a killer
3.  Emma Watson is British.  Sort of....

Slow down, take a deep breath, and let that one sink in a bit.  I'm talking about the all new, blockbusting, epic, world event/movie called Noah.  Feel the excitement as you remember the first time you heard the story and then scratch your head as Mr. Darren Aronofsky, a proclaimed atheist, takes a well-known biblical story and virtually rapes it.  Within minutes I was confused as this director takes his artistic driver's license and commits cinematic homicide.

Now, what does one expect watching a biblical story from the Hollywood point of view?  I can honestly say I went into the movie with that knowledge.  I understood that there would be some embellishment on a story that takes less than a page or two from the bible.  I understood that.  What I saw was a tribute to Mother Nature and rock like creatures who just happened to be called "watchers" and looked like poor imitations of transformers. Please note ** spoiler alert - there are scenes stolen from Roland Emmerich's blockbuster 2012 - World gets flooded and most of mankind gets wiped out except for the fortunate few who survived on a ark.  I will tell you this - if you're in the mood for an apocalyptic tale, rent the movie 2012.  It's actually more enjoyable and closer to the source material.  On the previous matter of an atheist instructing us on the ills of man destroying creation and mistreating it and then making an anti-believer's film using one of their best known stories taught in most bible schools for infants and toddlers, than this movie is for you.  If you like the climate change/earth cooling/global warming/greenhouse gas/cattle flatulence is killing us/get rid of coal, oil, and gas and plug your car in type of stories than this is still a sad piece of cinematic story telling.  I'll be honest - towards the end I understood how the inhabitants of the world came to have different accents. Between Emma Watson's character, who happens to give birth to twin girls fathered by her brother, having that unique British accent but was actually born in Paris, France to Russell Crowe portraying a loving father/loving botanist/and homicidal maniac having that unique Irish/welch accent, it was all evidently clear.   I could have sworn I heard a flower child sitting in the back of the theater laughing hysterically to herself. This was a blatant attempt to promote a pagan view of the story of Noah and cast it in a light of humanity's evil towards the planet "creation" and not the actual basis of the story of man turning from God.  Throughout the movie, references are made of God leaving the world and letting man play out his role alone.  It is not one of God's love but rather of God's indifference to his creation from the angels to the lowest of shrubs. In other words God is a God of indifference to a creation he took time to make but just left it like an abandoned after school science project.  That is, until the end when the rainbow (sort of) shows up and we get a collective "awwwwweeeeee" from the audience.  The movie is hypocritical to itself on many levels.  Which is the beauty of using a biblical tale in re-enforcing a non-believer's political agenda.  Mother Earth would be better off without that old religious creation of God's creation of man. Mankind should hate itself for hurting what obviously holds higher esteem in God's eyes.  Which is hypocritical from the point of "What's the point, God?"  If the director would have continued reading after the story of Noah he might have been enlightened on God's actual point of creation.  My personal opinion is Man came last as a culmination of God's love.  Creation, light, angels, water, plants, birds, mammals, and then His image.  Creation was created in anticipation of God's greatest creation - man.  In the movie, without actually saying it, man becomes little less than a glorified farmhand in the creation.  And then man, because he is senseless and directionless without God's presence, (he's been silent to man and rock-like angelic beings as well", so poor creation becomes a barren wasteland because man is inherently inherent.  It's God's fault for not paying closer attention.  Creation, once this beautiful, wondrous, paradise is laid waste to a directionless, evil mankind.  And, from the director's point of view, we are at that point again.  Man killing man and beast.  Man destroying the creation (again) with his pollution and greenhouse gases.  My question is - should we take out the cattle first?  Flatulence is far more evil in the greentology ethics of this dear director's political anthology.  If another cow never farted, or another car ever driven, would this suffice?

To summarize - I didn't like this movie from the political, religious, or entertainment quality angle of this movie.  There were moments in the movie I was just looking around at the light fixtures in the theater.  There were also moments when I thought "Should I get some Milk Dud's or would that ruin the popcorn taste?"  There were other moments when I was yawning a lot.  Then there were moments I wanted to yell "Hey, what's Hannibal Lector doing performing miracles?" but I didn't.  Because I'm not like the director.  I have a little common decency and I actually like good movies.  Note to director - Just because you hate doesn't mean you have to disrespect the 88% of people in Cyprus who believe in God.  Or what about the 92% in Romania?  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  For your pagan or atheistic viewpoints, please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com

Crimea River

"The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come."   Revelation 17 verse 8 (NIV translation)

Before I get into the heart and soul of this post, let me begin by saying I am not a prophet.  I do not want to make a current event comparison to an end times revelation.  I have studied the bible and I do believe the bible.  But I do not consider myself an authority on the bible.  But, every once in awhile, I see a connection.  I'm not quite ready to start my own cult but I do see a possibility of a connection.  And if the bible teaches us anything in the book of Revelation, it is this - keep watch for no one knows when it ends.  For we really do not know, or should we know, when that last day or week or month will come for all of us.  And I say "or should we know" because that would take out all the fun of living, right?  To actually know you have 426 hours left.  Or 50 years.  It would surely change the way you live and interact with others, right?  Some would sit quietly in their rooms in a state of despair.  Others would party like it's 1999 (which I didn't even do when it was December 31st, 1999).  We all would handle it differently and probably chaotically.  So, it's probably all for the best that we don't know that magical calender date. 

But a weird thing happened last night.  I woke up around 3:30 very thirsty.  Which is not uncommon.  I love a drink of water in the middle of the night.  It's cool and refreshing.  But shortly afterwards I checked my phone and twitter.  (Yes, I tweet now but I will never twerk.)  And I saw on my feed a story from a Mr. Hilliker about Argentina.  And Russia.  After reading the article about Russia establishing bases within South America and following the expansion of Russia into Crimea/Ukraine, Here's a link to that article. http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/argentina-to-host-russian-military-bases-while-america-sleeps/    I started thinking about the USSR and the power they had.  The collapse and division of the old bear into individual territories.  The once powerful USSR had literally died.  And any remnant of the communist super power could still be seen in Russia.  Or at least that's the way it appeared to me.  

And now, after all these years (the USSR formally dissolved December 26th, 1991), we see Russia re-establishing itself.  In fact, in their usual comical way, The Onion Newsletter explains it the best in a link I've listed below.  I must admit I laughed and cried at the same time.           http://www.theonion.com/articles/thanks-for-being-so-cool-about-everything,35584/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic:1:Default

So, after pondering such thoughts, the verse I included at the beginning of the post lunged out at me.  And I'm not saying that prophecy is being fulfilled by the expansion of Russia.  And I'm not saying that Russia is the beast.  But I am saying that that the world is a crazy place and some beasts, when they rear their heads, shouldn't be ignored.  As an american, of the norther hemisphere variety, I feel that perhaps our President is a little out of his element when he speaks of specific sanctions against specific people in Russia.  Sometimes, on the world stage, someone has to go up to the toddler and tell him nap time is over.  It's time to put away the golf clubs and put off the next vacation to China or Hawaii.  There's a new kid in town who's played this game before. Actually he's no new kid.  Seems pretty adult to me.  And the old team seems a lot smarter and mature.  God help us.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  To reach the customer service please email them at rueuhy@gmail.com

If You Like Your Soul You Can Keep Your Soul. Period.

Not recently, the President of the United States, Baroken Obama (I hope I spelled that right) told us a few times if we liked our healthcare plan we could do something with it.  I think he mentioned we could keep it. I'm not sure.  I'd have to go back and re-watch the 60+ times he said it to be sure. But that's old news (according to liberal sources) and that's not really fair using his own words to re-inforce my own ideology.  What is my ideology(?) you may ask?  Well, it's simple.  I like having a soul.  Now, before you get your tutu all wrinkled, let me explain.  I've noticed that some of you feel that my little rants through this post can be a little one sided. And that's true.  It's my side of things.  For decades, with little opposition, the liberal view of politics and the ideology of the three big networks - NBC, ABC, and CBS were able to spew their poison in any direction they choose.  Then a new beast reared its poisonous head to do battle with the existing powerhouse and we saw the creation of a "fair and balanced" network called Fox.  The audiences began to dwindle for the big three.  Others cropped up to spew their poisonous venom as well.  Cable news networks became abundant across the land and new heroes were born.  John Stewart. Bill Maher. Heck, now we have little Jimmy "the" Fallon hob nobbin with the greats like Michelle "eats them veggies" Obama.  The airwaves are full of regulated unregulated nonsense coming at us in all directions.  News networks and cable shows run 24/7 spewing out as much hate and rhetoric as you could possibly want.  And now, thanks to Al "the god" Gore, and his invention of the internet, even guys like me can ramble on.  And people like you, who still want to read even more, take the time to read these posts.  You are a hearty group of lads and lasses.  Recently, one comment came through my internet to inform me that I can be a little one-sided in my writing.  I am, I suppose.  I have a tough time giving one second of one minute of rationale to that which goes against my very being.  To see the other side seems to be useful only in crafting our individual argument against the opposing view.  To rationalize it, or give time to opposition, has been playing out for so long and we swim in it.  My opinion is un-apologetically, and irrevocably, mine.  It is what it is. And I do what I do.  And the time for apologizing for trying to make some common sense out of the refuse that gets thrown in every direction left on the train bound for political correctness has long departed.  Here's the thing - this is war.  For many of you the old cliche's and arguments have become so integrated into your movies, music, and television shows that you aren't seeing how much of a casualty you really are.  In your heart you know certain things are just wrong. But you listen to that intellectual, who just happens to portray some buffoon in the recent blockbuster, and you think - well, maybe they have a point.  But deep inside of you there is a wee' bit of common sense shouting from deep within yelling obscenities at you to prevent the total collapse of your soul.  You yearn for all the nonsense to end but you have this overwhelming desire to be "entertained".  Life is hard and we need our escapes.  We build and we laugh.  We paint and we sing.  We just want the human side of ourselves to be human.  But we listen as well.  We watch that tear jerker of a movie that tells us, even though their lifestyle is an aberration and abhorrent in the eyes of the One we proclaim to be God, it is pretty sad they can't just marry and love each other.  Or we listen to some hard beating, rhythmic, profanity labeled rap or punk or in simple terms - junk, and we excuse the lyrics because the garbled message is cool and hip.  And somewhere deep inside you feel a little slice of your soul eerily screaming as it lays their in its own pool of morality and righteousness.   The worst part, of which I've been guilty just as much as you, is the quiet we share in.  "Let them talk their trash on the news shows.  What can I say?  What difference can I make?"  Without saying a word you're making all the difference in the world.  For the world isn't working so well right now is it?  The young slaughter each other in the streets while the parents work to make payments on the newest car or lightest ipad.  The old sleep in their own piss while someone who makes a dollar or more over minimum wage takes a smoke break before they have to get back in and continue to nurse your grandma in that nursing home.   We allow the horrendous to occur (and I'm just as guilty or even more guilty of these sins) because we just can't fight what the world has made us.  The socially acceptable, anti-inflammatory, politically correct, weak, ego and pride-driven, clueless, well-informed by the propagandists, socially decayed empty husks of humanity we have become.  I guess I try to see everything and try to understand it and then try to put it into my own words because I'm sick of being sick of it.  My words and opinions try to make sense of the reality and I really can't accept the acceptance.  I inherently know, deep within, that my world isn't simple.  And I can see too much.  And I just have to punch those letters on the keyboard.  I can't be silent.  My fingers can't be still.  I like my soul and I want to keep it.  Period.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Email me at rueuhy@gmail.com to tell me how wrong I am.

 

At Least We Had 238 Good Years

We live in exciting times.  I grew up in exciting times. You'd think I could be a little more calm about the improvements Obama recently made on his golf handicap but surprisingly I'm not.  Before I saw the image above, I used to have a favorite image of what peace felt like. The image was one I learned from a story I heard a decade or two ago.  A king wanted the artists of the land to paint the most perfect illustration of peace.  As word spread many artists picked up the brushes and began to paint images of fields of flowers or calm blue skies.  After many months the king strolled through the courtyard with the best and brightest examples of his loyal countrymen's paintings. The king noted the immense talent and range of beauty and calm on display.  But there was one painting in particular that the king could not look away from. The artist had portrayed a stormy picture of a cliff side with ocean waves crashing into the rock wall.  Peals of lightning were shown as the rain pummeled the landscape.  In the center, in the midst of this raging storm, was a young mother bird sitting in the middle of a small nest located within a large crevice.  The mother, ever dutifully, was positioned in front of her young brood as the storm raged on. "This is the one." the king pronounced. "If ever there was an example of peace, it can only be found when the storm rages on."  That story has stuck with me ever since I heard it so many years ago.  And so, if we look towards the horizon, on the grand politically toxic world stage, we can hear the waves crashing against the rocks.  The peals of lightning and thunder come as the world leaders embrace their moment of power and fame.  The world is not silent and the danger can be seen if one merely has the courage and discernment to acknowledge it.  The old fierce dragon is doing battle with the cunning panda.  The bear struggles with the boastful eagle as the bear's territory increases.  And in the midst of it all, a man continues his round of golf as the villagers ask "Where is thy king?" .  For the difference between my story of old and the man golfing in Florida is immense.  The mother bird, in the first story, clings to her hatchlings protecting them.  Ever alert to the danger that her surroundings inflict on her brood, the mother stands vigilante in the face of the storm.  The fledglings feel secure in the nest as they feel the assurance from their mother that their safety is the highest priority in their mother's agenda.  For us, under the care of our mother president, we can feel the storm surrounding us yet do not see our mother.  Her interests can be found within her own seclusion from the hatchlings on a million dollar getaway to promote another government program and catch a few rounds of golf.  Did I mention he was playing golf?  As a newly independent Crimean Peninsula detaches itself from freedom to go back into the folds of the new, yet somehow old, mother Russia, the world stands at bay watching as the President of the United States takes yet ANOTHER vacation.  Somewhere, in the distance, a retired KGB officer, snickers to himself.  "Let them dream of being American Idols or the Next Top Model.  Let these americans fight over LGBT rights.  Let them continue to kill off millions of babies and give away birth control.  The old ways are still the best."  So, if the Russian excursion into the Ukraine is not enough to hinder Obama's vacation schedule, what is?  I can imagine, if there was a crisis that would hold back Michelle and O' from tee and tea time, it would probably be closer to November.  Because, in the big scheme of things, November elections are the only crisis that hold them spellbound.  That's when he'll fight for you and me.  When it matters. When it's an election.  Forget Russia, Ukraine, Benghazi, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Egypt, Syria, or the might of China, the only thing that seems to keep one mother bird close to the nest is her liberal agenda.  Thank goodness she's got her her mom's jeans all folded and packed aboard Air Force One.  You never know when some critical campaign stop will override the next conflict on the greens.  I can only hope his sand traps didn't involve another Arabian Peninsula or middle east province.  People - we're in trouble.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Email me at rueuhy@gmail.com to really let me know how you feel.

A Numbers Game

Population, population, population.  It really is about the numbers isn't it?  I, personally, live in a state that has one county (Cook County) that dominates the other 101 counties.  As per the previous census in 2010, Chicago/Cook County's population was 5,194,675.  The entire state was 12,830,632.  So, using a quick, non-scientific method of calculation - Cook County is our boss on election night.  Whether it's the governor's race or the Presidential race, Cook County has a pretty big say in how we are represented.  Now, for most of us, in the state of Illinois, we understand this discrepancy and try to live our lives downstate with the few scraps the state government throws to us.  But, for those of you who studied the state capitals in grade school, the confusion lies in the mobile location of the state capitol which seems to shift from Springfield to Chicago at the whim of those who govern our state.  Springfield is the permanent location of our capitol building.  Most of us in Illinois understand that most decisions really come out of the state capital which is primarily mobile based upon the current election cycle.  For example, we always know when it's an election year, or run up to an election year, when we get visits "down state" by our governor.  Sure, every once in a while he shows up in Springfield (our designated capitol location) if he feels that the upcoming election specifies his need to "fight for the people".  But, for someone who "fights for the people", he will not usually be found in the state capitol after 5 pm.  He will be en route to his "alternate" home in Chicago.  Which seems to be a waste of the taxpayer's money keeping up a residence as grand as the Governor's Mansion in Springfield.  Now, for those of you keeping tabs on capitol versus capital, capitol (with an "o") signifies the location of a building that seats the government.  And capital (with an "a") designates where the money is.  It's really that simple.  So, why do I bring all of this up?  Why waste your time and mine thinking upon such suffrage?  Well, it's simple. It has to do with California.  There is currently a petition circulating in the great state of California that would allow a bill to be put forward dividing California into six states.  There is no actual bill up for a vote but there is the potential for it if enough signatures are signed on the petition.  Six mini Californias.  The breakdown of California, by county, shows similarities between Illinois and California.  The biggest county, Los Angelos, has 9,818,605 people. The entire state has a population of 37,253,956 as per the 2010 census count.  The county of Los Angelos has the numbers over the rest of the state at a ratio of almost 1:4.  The county that comes in second on the numbers game is San Diego with 3,095,313.  Geographically, these two make up a small chunk in the actual land mass California amasses.  But politically, they have a pretty good say in the way California, and the rest of the United States, decided who will be President of the United States.  What is even scarier is the minority leader in the House of Representatives comes from a small dot geographically in the county map of California from the great county of San Francisco.  Ms. Pelosi, who infamously decided that a bill couldn't be understood unless a legislative body passed it, heralds from this small land mass.  The county itself, is home to 805,235 people.  But to be fair, a few of them already had health insurance.  Some did not.  So, in the grand scheme of things, 805,235 people need to leave my country.  Just kidding of course.  No, the point is, these two states, Illinois and California, are similar in the political dynamics of their people, and the geographical misrepresentation of the rural counties suffer.  Is it time for Illinois to depart from Cook county?  Is it time for California to divide into 6 smaller states?  I would have to agree.  It sure would change the dynamics of the next elections, wouldn't you say? My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Viva, revolucion!  If you have insults or accolades please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com

Obama And The History Books

Fast forward - one thousand years.  A young student sits alone in a small cubicle with a single cord plugged into the lower-rear base of his skull.  His eyes are partially open but one can determine rapid movement as the data is transferred to the young man.  In a world run by technology, this child is receiving 12 years of education within an hour of human data transfer connection.  Sitting in close proximity, in a similar cubicle, an elderly man, who recently received a partial brain transplant, is re-learning basic social engineering requirements as a part of his reintroduction into the social network he took temporary absence from due to injuries suffered from a high-speed human railway transport accident.  He is receiving basic and advance treatments which will take two hours compared to the single hour the young man next to him will require.  All residents of the north east quadrant of their hemisphere receive the same basic and advanced data transfers without the ancient outdated methods deemed "in-human" two centuries ago by the quadrant leaders.  The old formula, based upon classrooms set in an institutional method of group organizational teaching, was so archaic and tortuous, the Quadrant Bretheran only mention it behind closed doors in order to protect the masses from falling prey to the "old ways".  After the fall of mankind, taught briefly in the history section of the data transfers, always equated the mass-sufferings of the people were the result of the institutional settings prevalent in the early to mid twentieth centuries.  In that same history section, every record of civilizations of man, deemed historically accurate by the Quadrant Bretheran, gives a brief synopsis of the accomplishments and failures of each prevalent civilization.  The "freedom" period, established in the late 1700's and evolving into the pre-social periods, gives an account of the self-awareness of people and the destruction of social experimentation which started with the group known as the "Fore-Fathers".  In direct violation of nobility and royalty, these men coordinated treasonous steps to form a government with the delusions of liberty and freedom.  In the gravest of plunders and self-worth, the Fore-Fathers fostered a mentality of individual achievement and prosperity while allowing an alternative group, the "poor needy" to suffer in sickness and hunger.  The states which grew from the uprising of the Fore-Fathers would grow into a dominating world power which was deemed the richest in wealth accumulation until the rise of a leader who saw the potential for a social integration of all men as fulfilled by the new world under the control of equal dispensary found under the might of the Quadrant Bretheran.  The one known as President Barack Obama, saw past the individual exploitation of weakness as opposed to strength and employed unilateral changes so significant that these changes were pivotal in bringing the madness of "freedom and liberty" to a better understanding of the first groups to successfully initiate social programs such as universal healthcare and collapse of wealth markets which incited bigoted classing of humans. Terms such as "peace and prosperity" would later be deemed in violation of "The Rules" which caused too much confusion for the masses.  New terms would be necessary for the lives of the residents of the quadrants and the Quadrant Bretheran would assume necessary power to govern the masses and true peace would be found for the populaces.  The equal distribution of products and services would no longer be hindered by any type of individual wealth or accommodation of privilege.  All classes would be dissolved for the necessity of governing the masses and history would become an interpretation of the evolution of man as the Quadrant Bretheran deemed necessary.  This was the data deemed worthy of transfer to new and old students alike.  And all of this history, and the tens of millions of bits of data including video and written transcripts, required ten minutes of data transfer.  The conditioning of the human mind and soul had found the ultimate platform of streamlining.  The Quadrant Bretheran, in late night discussions behind those closed doors, would never comprehend the unruliness and disillusionment of their predecessor's masses.  They would always have to wonder.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com (if you must). 

The Trash Can

This is not a story or report of any kind.  In fact, it's just an opinion.  It's an opinion to add fuel to the fire of a debate that's been in place since a supreme court ruling many years ago.  Some of you will agree and some of you will disagree.  Yet, I believe this would end the argument at the basic local level where it deserves to be ended.  The debate centers on the right to choose versus the right to life.  Let the yelling begin.

I must confess I will never have a body that will ever reproduce.  I am a man. (Hold your relieved exhalations to a minimum)  So, for some of you, you say that my opinion is invalid.  I would have to disagree.  My opinion would have mattered prior to my birth.  And it still does.  I do realize that the choice to undergo an abortion is perhaps the hardest choice any woman or couple would ever have to make - for many of us.  The ramifications are extraordinary and final.  There is no undoing what get's done.  It's permanent.  For some, it is made as young teens.  For many, the ability to drive a car in a licensed way, or obtain alcohol or cigarettes is regulated by the state but the ability to abort a fetus seems to be a constitutional right (the argument thrown out in most discussions) that covers those younger than the age to drive or drink or smoke.  The living status of an unborn fetus seems to sit lower on the scale of importance in that regard.  We call ourselves a civilized society but this does seem to spit in the face of morality versus a person's choice in respect to their body.  Once that life is created (some argument seems to protrude on this issue) it cannot be reversed.  A sperm fertilizing an egg is the initialization of life.  To say that life begins after birth is a comparison to a car leaving an automobile factory versus a windshield wiper sitting in an auto parts store.  It's one that should not be made lightly.  So when does a car become a car?  Is it merely at the drawing board of some artist?  Does a car begin when the parts are designed and engineered?  Or is it only a car when it leaves a car lot with an owner behind the wheel?  The discussion could go on and on but I dare say that a baby is complete in being labeled alive once the genetic fabric has been sewn in two after conception takes place.  The human form or life has a code written down that can change through mutation or responses to outside disruption from chemicals or radiation or disease but the baby is a completely mapped out genetic being from the moment of fertilization. The eye color is fixed.  The sex is fixed.  Yes, we can argue about chromosomes and the changes in form during the gestation period in the womb but one could argue, and rightly so, that the fetus will become what it was meant to become.  A blond female with brown eyes is still a living creature even if she started out with green eyes in the womb.   I would have to say a fetus is a living person in the womb as defined through the parameters of mental and moral accountability. Some would argue that a chicken egg thrown against wall is the equivalent of aborting a human fetus.  I disagree.  That chicken egg, if alive, is still alive.  We are not the chicken or rooster that started that life.  Our moral code does not hold that egg in the same standing as a human baby. Throw a two year old against a wall and the world will throw you in jail.  Throw a chicken against a wall and someone will ask if you're trying to tenderize your supper.  Children are not raised on farms for their nutritional value, are they?  The rationality of the chicken egg versus the fetus is invalid.  So what do we do as a society?  I know the answer does not exist in throwing a fetus' against the wall.

I believe, in my opinion, that a ruling by the supreme court of the United States, cannot choose whether a human life begins in the uterus versus a two year old child.  Some laws of science cannot be adapted for legislative or judicial rulings while others are ignored.  The term "life" has a different meaning for everyone but I do believe that life is as complete for a fetus versus a birthed human.  The potential exists whether a fetus has left the womb.  There is a connection between mother and child.  There is an individuality for that fetus or fetus' in the case of multiple fertilization(s) such as twins or triplets.  One cannot kill off a twin because the other is a duplicate in genetic code can they?  They are individuals with potential for good or evil.  They are individuals with the potential for happiness or sadness.  They are individuals regardless of the hardship or trouble they may bring to the woman (or couple) deciding to neutralize the fetus.  Fetus is such a cold and sanitary word.  I prefer the term "baby".  Whether a couple wants the child or a single mother doesn't, does not change what is growing in the womb.  Once the first cell splits - it's life.  And it cannot be stopped.  Even in its basic form, a fertilized egg has stopped just being an egg and has become something more.  And even from that first second of fertilization to the last dying breath of that man or woman, a human it is.

The only answer I can see at the moment is full disclosure to any potential woman or couple arriving at an abortion facility.  A short video.  The footage could show in its first half the trauma and birth of a successful birth.  The second half could be footage of an actual abortion procedure.  With our current laws and findings in the courts it would seem to be up to the individual carrying the unborn child in determining the fate of the continued life of that fetus.  I believe every woman should be given the full ramifications of their decision.  It is about the children.  No matter what stage.  Or simply make it a law that any patient of a abortion procedure must view the trash can filled with the remains of the previous customer of the doctor's handiwork. I believe the "choice" would result in fewer "statistics".  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Please email me if you feel the need - rueuhy@gmail.com