I’m always curious how so many people put an emphasis on money. It’s only paper. The only real value it has is that of fuel for the fireplace. It is the faux middleman of economics.

What money represents does have value. Money, when it was based on precious metals could, theoretically be exchanged for a comparable value of the actual metals themselves. Gold and silver are crucial in the manufacture of many products. That is why they have value. Tobacco was used as currency for awhile. It was a product unto itself.

When someone says the rich have more money than their fair share, they point to money as valuable. Those same people rarely complain about the tangible items the rich own. Perhaps this is because the tangible items represent the money the rich have already spent and no longer have sitting in a bank somewhere. The fact is, the tangible items are the wealth. The bank balance is only potential wealth. It becomes wealth when it is spent. Those same complainers also represent potential wealth. They just have to get up off their butts and translate that potential into tangible wealth.  This couldn’t be simpler.

I think many university students base their political perspectives on theories learned in the classroom. Perhaps it’s important to remember the practical sides of things. Never assume you can change a flat tire without actually having changed one. Theory makes a lousy lug wrench and has no muscles.

I was treated to a sound bite from Dianne Feinstein replayed on the radio today, the 29th anniversary of two high profile shooting deaths  in San Francisco.

Referring to the 1978 murders of Harvey Milk and S.F. Mayor, George Mosconi, by (then former supervisor), Dan White, Senator Feinstein said, ” I was the one that found Supervisor Milk’s body, and I was the one to PUT A FINGER IN A BULLET HOLE, TRYING TO GET A PULSE”.

Question:                                                                                                                                                                       Is that how one checks for a pulse?

Answer:                                                                                                                                                                     Yes! (assuming one is an ignoramus whose knee-jerk reactions to critical events are chronically based on little, no, or faulty information.)

Both Liberal and Conservative ideas can have great merit, but great ideas lose their value when promoted by liars and cheats.

The frustration of youth is being too busy to think.

The frustration of seniors is time to think.

My thoughts ,above, are hardly original. Winston Churchill put it best when he said, “Show me a young Conservative and I’ll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I’ll show you someone with no brains”.

Someone very close to me is contemplating suicide. Everyone I know has a multitude of suggestions on how to save this person from himself, yet nothing works. The fellow feels worthless and is in such emotional pain that he no longer wants to live.

This nation has mental health issues at the forefront of discussion. It’s all theory. Nothing is being done to remedy situations like these. Police are unwilling to intervene in fear of being sued for violating civil rights and say they can only take action after the stench inside this man’s abode makes it evident he’s been dead for some time.

Common sense is hidden somewhere. This is the problem. The issue is clearly identifiable…and ignored. Generally because it is someone else’s problem. Until it ends up on the news.

Any suggestions?

Men in power shouldn’t use their position to sexually harass or abuse women. That is a given. Those who do should be punished. That, too, is a given.

With so many women making so many allegations right now, I am left to wonder whether all of those complaints are actually worthy of review. I think some of them may simply be pile-ons; as in football. After one person tackles another everyone else seems to come out of the woodwork to pointlessly leap on top.   Will men become so cautious with their “harmless”  joking and playfulness (which they once assumed was acceptable) that we end up with sexual segregation in the workplace and elsewhere? Is that the goal or just the unintended possible result?

Yes, bad guys should pay. Women need to decide if there is a difference between bad and just teasing. Is teasing bad, too? If it is, romance is dead. This could be a slippery slope, Ladies.

Mike Hughes is preparing to launch his home-made, 500 mph rocket (made from scrap metal) this Saturday. He expects to pilot the thing to an altitude of 1800 ft. over the Mojave desert with the hope of proving the world is flat. Considering everything else going on in the world today, Mike’s plan almost seems logical.

What do Kathy Griffin and Hillary Clinton have in common?

Both claim to be VICTIMS of their own irresponsible behaviors and are convinced it is thoroughly UNFAIR   other people don’t think the way they do. So, they are pissed off.

Isn’t that the definition of “Spoiled Brat”?

“I CAN DO ANYTHING I FEEL LIKE DOING, WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE!” This is the mantra of many celebrities and people in politics and business who believe they hold sway over others. Sound familiar? Ask Harvey Weinstein, et al. (I’d suggest you ask Richard Nixon…but he’s too dead.)

It is also the job description of run-of-the-mill Liberal Progressives.

With all the turmoil in the Middle East, I fear the innocence of mythological stories of genies, magic lamps and flying carpets will be slip into obscurity. And when such innocence is lost, it can never be retrieved intact. I think the only Arabian fantasies we can hope for in the future are doomed to involve poppy farmers, barrel bombs and flying rubble.

These age old religious and tribal conflicts continue to display humanity at its worst, and tend to piss off the tour guides.