The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Mrs. Saunders told her husband. When she got to the door, there was a police officer waiting.

“Good morning, Mrs. Saunders,” he began. “Is your husband home?”

“Do you mind telling me what this is about?” she asked.

“Just purely routine,” the officer replied. “Ah, there he is!” as Mr. Saunders came up behind his wife.

“Mr. Saunders, may I come in?”

“Do you have a warrant?” Saunders countered.

“As a matter of fact, I do, but it’s a sealed warrant. In any case, I am coming in.” He more or less herded the Saunders from the door into the living room. The officer sat in the overstuffed chair across from the couch, making it obvious as to where he expected the Saunders to sit.

“I’m Inspector Hodges from the Supreme Court,” he explained.

“The Supreme Court has police?” Mrs. Saunders asked, causing the inspector to frown.

“The Supreme Court Police were created in 1935,” he explained, “until recently it included about 200 sworn officers, but we’ve had to ramp that up a bit in light of current issues.”

The Saunders looked at one another, puzzled.

“You see,” the Inspector continued, “Setting aside the prior decision of Roe v Wade has made abortions difficult—if not impossible-for many people, especially those who are financially challenged. They have no way to provide for the children that otherwise would have . . . let’s just say not be born.

“In cases of rape, especially incest, the trauma is just too great for the mothers, so . . . .” the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” the inspector said, “I’m expecting another officer.” He opened the door and another uniformed officer entered, this one carrying a small baby.

“You see,” the Inspector continued, “Congress has addressed this issue in a most effective manner. If you remember back to the mid-twentieth century, people were conscripted into the military. The draft was an attempt to randomly pick those who were to be inducted. We use a similar system.

“All citizens who filed their income tax as ‘married’ who meet certain criteria are deemed eligible.”

“What criteria?” Mr. Saunders asked.

“Income at least twice the current poverty line with no criminal history. It’s quite simple, you see. Therefore, you two were selected to parent this beautiful little . . . .” he glanced back at the officer holding the baby who silently mouthed girl. “beautiful little girl.”

“Wait a minute,” Mr. Saunders injected. “First off, I’m 65 years old and getting ready to retire.”

“Isn’t it funny how life always interferes with the best plans of mice and men?”

“Everybody with two times the income as the poverty level? What about Trump, Bill Gates, Elon Musk?”

“Oh,” explained the Inspector, “they don’t make any income. Everything they have is retained wealth or capital gains.” He motioned to the other officer, who carried the baby over to Mrs. Saunders and set her on Mrs. Saunders’s lap. Another officer walked in with a cardboard box.

“Some disposable diapers, formula, handiwipes—you know. The rest you’ll need to buy tomorrow.” The inspector stood up, but before he and his coworkers headed to the door he turned around.

“A word to the wise,” he said. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but you might as well adjust to everything all at once. The Justices are looking for a case so they can rule that wives are subservient to their husbands, so you just might want to adjust your behavior,” he said looking directly at Mrs. Saunders. Mrs. Saunders opened her mouth to speak, but the Inspector interrupted. “You should let your husband do the talking. In good Christian families, he’s the boss.”

Thanks to Mitch McConnell and Trump, the Supreme Court has indeed become an assembly of political hacks. The leaking of a draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade has resulted in a firestorm of (un)righteous indignation.

For the record, I am not a fan of abortion, but I am a realist. It is not my place to impose my will over another person’s God given free will.

• God gave us free will, but the Supreme Court does not.
• Murder has been illegal for centuries, but people still kill one another.
• Stealing has been illegal for centuries, but we still have burglaries, robberies, embezzling, etc.
• From 1920 until 1933, drinking alcoholic beverages was illegal. Prohibition’s main legacy was to make organized crime rich and powerful, but people still drank.
• Lying to government agents, to a court, or to Congress is illegal, but seems to be ignored.

The Trump appointees were questioned about respecting precedent—the previous rulings of the Supreme Court—and nominees Gorsuch and Kavanaugh outright lied under oath. By rights, they should be held liable for perjury.

Barrett fudged her answer by saying it was not a super precedent. A decision is either a precedent or not—it’s like death. A person is either dead or not dead; there is no such thing as super-dead. By her logic, are some laws lesser than others and breaking them means nothing?

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court neither has standards of conduct nor a moral compass as seen by Justice Thomas’s lack of ethics. It has been my experience that every government employee—civilian or military—is required to take annual ethics training. One of the key concepts is that federal employees must avoid EVEN THE APPEARANCE OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR.

The Supreme Court sees itself as above the law. The last few years have seen a loss of faith in the legislative branch. Trump trashed the executive branch. I guess it was inevitable that the judicial branch would follow suit.

Finally, there are those who claim that the Constitution does not specifically authorize the right to certain things, including abortion. While that is true, our basic underlying concept is that the government receives its power from the will of the governed. A similar issue is reiterated in the bill of rights:

Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

When asked what kind of government the founding fathers had devised, Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

I guess we can’t keep it.

Tory MP Neil Parish got kicked out of the British Parliament for watching porn on his telephone while attending Parliament. However, in my mind, that is not all of the story.

The House of Commons is rather like the House of Representatives in the United States; the House of Lords was once somewhat like the US Senate, but the US Senate is now an embarrassment unlike anything anywhere. In any case, the decorum that the British practice is somewhat laissez faire. Clapping is not allowed, but shouting is, although it often includes high and lofty terms like vainglorious. However, this does not change the fact that the House of Commons is sometimes reminiscent of a barroom brawl.

The video in the link below isn’t the most outrageous example, but you get the idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVkR8jUSVM

If you ever watch C-SPAN, you are aware of the US Congress’s style, or lack thereof. I especially laugh when I catch C-SPAN while channel surfing. You can see politicians making speeches in the late afternoon to an almost empty chamber. I guess it proves that politicians talk to just hear themselves speak.

In any case, I would guess that many members of parliament are looking at their phones, playing games, or whatever. Parish got caught looking at porn. However, given the choice between watching the antics of his fellow politicians or watching porn, some may consider it a tough choice. Parish just forgot the 11th commandment-“Thou shalt not get caught.”

If you’d like to see a brief explanation of the British Parliament click this link. It’s only about 10 minutes, but very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVkR8jUSVM

Truth is stranger than fiction. (Click for video) Monty Python foresaw this in 1971.

Many presidents actively served in wartime and were exposed to bullets, shrapnel, poison gas, or other genuinely dangerous things. George Washington commanded the Army. Abraham Lincoln not only served in the militia during the Black Hawk War, but during the Civil War, while president, he crossed the front line into confederate territory. Presidents Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush all served in wartime. In all, 33 presidents served in the military.

On the other hand, Donald Trump did not, being exempted because of alleged heel spurs. In my opinion, if he had served it might have better prepared him for life.

“Donald Trump worried that “dangerous” fruits could be flung at him by protesters, according to newly-released excerpts from his sworn deposition for an upcoming trial in New York.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-worried-dangerous-fruits-could-be-thrown-at-him-by-protesters-a-new-deposition-reveals/ar-AAWEPFf?cvid=e7b0eaff5d15449b8e681c3ff0237ae9

Thank goodness he wasn’t threatened with a pointed stick.

The line between reality and satire is becoming harder to define.

The Founding Fathers never saw this coming.

Decisions regarding how to effectively deal with public heath crises have been transferred from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to the federal judiciary. For some reason it ended up in a court in Florida. Allegedly, this was suggested by Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist, to her husband Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.

Meanwhile in Florida, Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that mask mandates were not legal. Judge Mizelle is not a qualified Public Health expert nor is she an epidemiologist nor learned in any other medical field. Even in her own field of law, the American Bar Association rated her as “NOT QUALIFIED” to be appointed a federal judge. She may not know anything about public health, but she knows what she likes.

Recently, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied judges were political hacks. Since most people saw no reason for her to say this, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet; “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Mitch McConnell, whose wife was Secretary of Transportation during the Trump Administration is alleged to have said, “It’s about time!”

In the meantime, Florida politicians are carefully combing arithmetic textbooks for kindergarten through third grade to ensure that there are no references to American History—especially concerning the enslavement of black people. The politicians don’t quite understand the actual math itself, but that’s why they have staff members to handle such things. Also banned are any books with references to sex, drugs, rock and roll, biology, or logic.

Now that the judiciary has assumed the role of writing new laws in addition to misinterpreting existing ones, the additional authority for public health, is not surprising. With the judiciary handling these responsibilities, it gives Congress more time to fundraise and make derogatory comments about just about everything.

You’ll see a number of quotations in today’s blog. As a species, we’ve been over this same ground before and others have said it better than I ever could.

“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” – Winston Churchill

Churchill’s statement was never more true than today in Ukraine.

Russia is already the world’s largest country, spanning two continents—Europe and Asia—and 11 time zones. Its history has seen great wealth and power, although not equally shared. Prior to the Russian Revolution, the leader was the “Tsar,” which is derived from the ancient title of Caesar (as is the German title “Kaiser”).

After the revolution, the Csar was dead and could no longer skim the financial cream from the economy. Theoretically, given that they were committed to the communist system, with its egalitarian focus, there should have been a more equitable distribution. After all, communism’s credo is “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” – Karl Marx.

Instead, of sharing, certain Russians stepped in to claim the largest and tastiest pieces of the pie. Then World War II came, and Stalin, Russia’s ruler at the time, grabbed as much territory as he could and made some part of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic and others satellite states. Eventually, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and many nations gained their freedom.

Skipping ahead to today, Vladimir Putin, current ruler of Russia and Tsar wannabe, has initiated efforts to rebuild the Soviet Union, starting with the conquest of Ukraine. It looked like low-hanging fruit since unlike most its neighbors Ukraine did not belong to NATO. Its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a professional politician—in fact he was a television comic actor.

Things are not exactly going to plan. Ukraine has not been a pushover—its professional military has been trained by NATO. Many/most other males—and many females—have taken up arms and been trained to be an effective extension of the regular military.

Russia’s military philosophy has been, don’t worry about being accurate or doing it right. Instead, it has been, “If you shoot enough artillery shells and rockets, you’re bound to hit something important!” In a way, this is true. Russia’s attack has decimated children’s schools, hospitals, and other places the entire rest of the world would never see as dangerous.

Russia loves flashy missiles, fighter aircraft, and other things that look great in the May day parade. Unfortunately, these are not the keys to winning.

A few quotes that sum things up better than I could:

“I don’t know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.” – Admiral E. J. King

“Amateurs discuss tactics. Professionals discuss logistics.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

Russia does not have reliable trucks to transport the “B’s”—Beans, Bullets, Bandages, and Black Boxes. To add to the negative situation, conscripts who serve for a year don’t have time to learn how to conduct maintenance properly on the vehicles, and they’re too busy counting down days until they are released to give a shit.

Mr. Putin, I’m not a world leader, but I have experience with logistics. All I can say is that I hope that the hole you’re digging for yourself is deep enough.

With all the infighting, hate, discontent, and incivility in Washington, DC, I thought it might be useful to review what our first president advised regarding political parties. Bluntly put, he opposed them. 

Washington remained above the fray; he wanted to be a president of all the American citizens. The most important reason was he believed unity, not division, was necessary for a democratic republic to survive. Washington believed that political parties would divide and destroy the young United States. 

His thought, in what became known as the Farewell Address in 1796, is clear: “the spirit of party” serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. 

Throughout his political life, and until his death in 1799, George Washington was confident that the country could and should function without the existence of political parties. Maybe we should have heeded his advice. 

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/political-parties/ 

Newsweek published an interesting article written by Hannah Osborne entitled “Fungi Appear to Talk in a Language Similar to Humans” (link below). This is along the same lines as last year’s news in Nature magazine that slime mold, which is a large yet single-celled organism, without a brain, can learn to navigate a maze (second link below).

Pretty amazing, don’t you think?

I wonder if they lie and scream at one another the way our elected officials do.

It would be sad (but not surprising) to find out that mold and fungus are more civilized than Congress.

https://www.newsweek.com/fungi-language-communication-talk-similar-humans-1695146

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11811

Those of us who have served in the US Military know that we are committed to never leaving a fellow service member behind, whether alive or not. It’s a sign of respect among those who are committed to the safety of our nation.

The Russian soldiers who invaded Ukraine are not afforded such respect. Many of them were lied to—being told they were going on a training exercise. Instead, they found themselves in a war. Thousands of Russian solldiers have died.

It is reported that Russia has sent in portable crematoria to dispose of the bodies of Russian soldiers. This allows Putin’s propagandists to claim that individual soldiers are missing in action or captured, not killed.

Apparently, the number of Russian soldiers killed is exceeding the capacity of the crematoria. Putin must believe that Russian soldiers are like trash. If they can’t be burned, like litter, just let them lie where they fall.

Ukraine is talking about putting the bodies in refrigerated trucks and returning them to Russia. This would involve digging up the mass graves as well as collecting the bodies left above ground. I suspect that if they tried that, Putin would destroy the trucks to keep the Russian people from seeing the thousands who had been killed. Truth is not Putin’s friend.

More detail is available at https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/23/europe/ukraine-war-russian-soldiers-deaths-cmd-intl/index.html.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is undergoing Senate hearings consistent with the Constitution’s provision that the Senate will advise and consent to certain presidential actions.

Based on yesterdays hearings, I can only conclude that advise and consent is like truth and beauty–a wonderful concept that is neither clearly defined nor understood and that’s just fine with the upper house in Congress.

The senators talked (and talked and talked) instead of asking questions. It reminded me of the old joke about a blind date:

“Hi, are you Sally?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Well, enough about you. Let’s talk about me.”

Today, a refrigerator size asteroid struck the earth two hours after it was first discovered. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/fridge-sized-asteroid-hit-earth-2-hours-after-it-was-first-spotted-nasa-says/ar-AAVcVU8?li=BBnb7Kz. On March 11, astronomer Krisztian Sarneczky noticed an asteroid at the Piszkéstető Observatory in Hungary. No meteorite pieces that survived re-entry have been found so far.

Given that a Hungarian observatory first spotted it and that any debris that didn’t burn up in the atmosphere is believed to have ended up in Norway, Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had no comment; apparently, he figured it was good for Putin to believe Ukraine had extraterrestrial military capability.

In the meantime, Louis DeJoy, United States Postmaster General declared the speed of the asteroid/meteor as wasteful. “If I had been in charge, it would have taken weeks for it to arrive AND I would have raised the rates while it was on the way.”

Lying doesn’t work.
It especially doesn’t work if you are lying to yourself.

Politicians are noted for their ability to lie (“How can you tell if a politician is lying? Their lips are moving). Right now, one of the prime candidates for Best Politician (aka Biggest Liar) is Vladimir Putin.

Vlad repeatedly promised that he had no intention of invading Ukraine.

Vlad vehemently denied sending conscripts into battle, until some were taken prisoner and expressed their dismay.

Many conscripts were blindsided when they found themselves in a war. Apparently Russian leadership told them they would be participating in a training exercise.

Russia has cut all foreign news sources possible so that only Russian broadcasters could present the party line. People in Ukraine who have family in Russia are being told they cannot be in a war, because if there were a war, it would be on the Russian news.

It appears that Vlad is lying to himself about how things are going in Ukraine.

Vlad’s lips have been moving, but it might be hard to tell since he’s at the other end of his 13-foot table.

I wonder if Putin was lying to Trump when they met.

Russia has always had a tendency to value quantity over quality–at least in war. While other countries, including the United States use smart bombs and precision cruise missiles, it seems that the Russian philosophy has been–and still is–to use large quantities of explosives. Fire enough artillery shells, drop enough dumb bombs, etc.., and sooner or later you’re bound to hit something. Not necessarily a military target, but something.

In the meantime, Ukrainians are fighting back, but while Russia is lobbing shells into Ukraine, if Ukraine fired back into Russia, Putin has implied he would use nuclear weapons. The West has emphasized economic warfare, cutting off trade and access to foreign currency.

Many companies have chosen to support the economic sanctions, but some apparently place profit above all else. I understand that some are franchises and the parent corporation doesn’t have as much control. However, many appear to be just plain greedy.

I would think that the least that they could do is send a cease and desist letter that would say, “Effective immediately, you can no longer use our name, sell our products, or in any way involve us in your business until Russia stops killing Ukrainian women and children.”

Here’s an article that you may find interesting https://www.aol.com/finance/companies-still-doing-business-russia-204129691.html

Yale University also has a list as to which companies are involved with Russia at this time.

https://yale.app.box.com/s/11lqy1d3yn1kf9xa3r96k9sb6w5m4qea

Just a few random thoughts, today:

I’ve been seeing inexpensive items that merely have a small sticker that says, “Made in China,” rather than a permanent mark on the product itself. Most labels quickly fall off—at least the side with printing on it. This could mean one of two things:

1. China, like the United States, is now having their manufacturing outsourced to small countries to reduce costs.
2. They may be back to using questionable ingredients, such as melamine, and need to establish plausible deniability.

The federal government’s efforts to curb spam calls is not going well. I have to wonder; how many members of Congress (or their spouses) have a financial interest in such activities?

I recently retired from federal civil service, after a career in the military. It was a painful experience, with a last minute screwup that delayed my retirement by four months. However, as I watch our elected officials in action, I’m grateful that ANYTHING gets done, no matter how poorly.

Senator Romney expressed his displeasure at GOP members who supported Putin. Thanks, Mitt. Now, Republicans, what do you have to say?

[cricket chirp] [whirr] [cricket chirp] [whirr] [cricket chirp] [whirr]

The cricket chirps are from the Republican Party, while the whirring sound you hear is Abe Lincoln spinning in his grave. Pretty significant since after certain people tried to steal his body and hold it for ransom, it was placed under tons of rock and concrete.

But then, Abe was always an exceptional man in so many ways. After rogues attempted to steal his body and hold it for ransom–but failed–he was buried beneath the floor of the crypt, reportedly with a hefty load of concrete to prohibit future illegal disinterments. Therefore, his spinning was not nearly as easy as it would be for others in less constricted gravesites.

Nevertheless, it would be nice if you stood for something honest.

More’s the pity.

As you know, I am a student of history, particularly the history of war. It is my heartfelt wish that my children, their children, and their grandchildren should never have to face war. My grandfather served in World War I, my father in World War II. During my lifetime there was the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as well as various other military events, including Grenada, Libya, Syria, and a myriad of others. I served during the first Gulf War and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I have son who served 10 years in the Navy and is now in the reserves, so to me this is not merely an academic exercise.

The two wars that keep my attention are the United States Civil War and World War II. As is always the case, the wealthy and powerful decide to go to war while others who bear the burden.

In the 1860’s, many in the North opined that if the South wanted to leave the Union, they should be allowed to. The cannonade of Fort Sumter offshore of Charleston, South Carolina changed that and is considered the single most costly victory in the entire history of warfare.

During the Civil War, a wealthy man could pay someone else to serve in his place and did not need a medical excuse not to serve. Other influential men joined and were commissioned as senior officers regardless of their education or experience. For example, Brigadier General Joseph Davis, with no military training, rose to general because he was the nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis; he lost nearly two regiments at Gettysburg.

World War II was a bit different. Having been drawn into World War I, Americans were predisposed to let Europe fend for itself—until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That changed everything. Virtually the entire country threw themselves into supporting the war. Men enlisted and women took over the manufacturing and other duties back home.

Vietnam—some were drafted, some enlisted, some went to Canada, others went to a cooperative doctor for a deferral.

I am not a disinterest party in judging my fellow service men and women from the 80s until and including the 21^st century. However, I would proudly serve again with any and all with whom I served with before.

Now to the crux. If we are faced with another crisis, what is my confidence level today? Like during the civil war, we are a country divided. The dividing lines are not geographic—they are philosophic. We could not build our way to victory as we did in the Second World War because we’ve exported our manufacturing. Today, if there was an embargo against the United States, could we even be confident that we could produce our own underwear? I doubt it.

I grew up in northern Ohio. Winter was not only cold, but if Lake Erie isn’t frozen, as the winds came down through Canada, they pick up water vapor from the lake. When the winds hit land, which is colder, snow forms (often a LOT of snow). This is called lake effect.

I remember winters as being cold, windy, and lots of snow. By cold I mean single digits or lower, although the wind made it feel substantially colder. I worked at the downtown public library during high school, and waiting for the bus at 9:00 PM during the winter was cold, cold, cold.

I now live in Virginia. We rarely get snow here. Before sunset, it was 48 degrees Fahrenheit; right now, it’s 39 degrees. Many people down here begin to wear quilted coats, gloves, and scarves about 45 or 50 degrees. I’m not that bad–at least not yet.

However, with all the differences, when I walked outside today, I caught myself thinking, “Yes, it’s winter.” I think it’s the clouds. A winter sky just looks different than any other season’s cloudy sky. I believe it makes me feel colder than I actually am.

My wife and I went out for lunch today to Abbey Road in Virginia Beach. That may sound like a infinitesimally minor event, but it wasn’t. Most of you know that I have been schwacked and reschwacked by COVID.

Before that, on several occasions, I went off to war without a second thought; I cannot prevent war, or any injury that war might inflict on me, but I can prevent more damage from COVID. As a military officer, I differentiate between the battles I can win and those that are less certain.

Don’t laugh. Knowing what is winnable is important. Longstreet, Lee’s most experienced and savvy officer advised Lee against Pickett’s charge. Lee should have listened.

In any case, I was successful in the wartime assignments to which I was assigned. Up till now, COVID; not so much. Nevertheless, I am now at the point where I can and will once again grab onto my own life.

I had a wonderful day today. I plan on having a wonderful day tomorrow.

As the Klingons say “Today is a good day to die!” It, indeed, could be, but it could also be a great day to live.

Everyone is watching elections-ALL elections to try to determine who will hold the real power after the 2022 elections. Here are my TOP FIVE predictions:

Sally M. will be elected president of the Shreveport PTA, just as she has for the past 12 years.

Jim B. will win, by the tightest of margins, the top Shriner spot.

Kathy Perry, in a surprise upset will win the Ohio Pie Contest, finally passing by Sandra Cain, who had won in the past due to political connections.

Francis X. will be the overwhelming choice for the Knights of Columbus, Grand Knight in Dubuque, Iowa.

Bob Cowznofski, who was featured in Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in Advertising, and, of course, Who Gives a Damn as to Who’s Who, will not be elected to anything, nor even be mentioned in his local newspaper.

Just wait. Next year at this time, you’ll have to admit my prescience.

Count on it.