Walkabout Thoughts #5

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

Today's Podcast is from, Janes - OSINT Ethical Considerations with Amy Zegart

Today's Instagram post

Air quality today was a rating of, 10! Therefore, Walkabout!

I have maybe one more read through/edit on my book "Suffering Long CoViD", before working on formatting it for upload to Amazon. I should submit it to a publishing house but, that could take forever while people are suffering. My hopes are in the book to just make people with long CoViD, even our healthcare providers, a little more aware of what information is out there. 

Because I found nothing when I first got long CoViD in March 2020. But over two years I've found a few things and want to share them. I came up with seven rules of long Covid/COVID-19, and posted them to a long CoViD group. I had difficulty initially getting it posted from the admins there, but worked it through and got it posted. One person offered good advice, and actually the admins offered good advice to re-word one rule. They said not to command people to do something, which wasn’t my intent and I didn’t think I was doing that. But I put down my frustration and irritation at them, and began to see something in it and how I had worded things. So I reworded it and then they posted it, after a couple of failures. Then someone commented and pointed out that while it can seem with long CoViD that it gives you a temporary allergy to foods, it could be just related to eating something with sugar or high histamine levels. Which long CoViD can make you susceptible to for a while. I also realized in my final rule of remaining hopeful, I said that one day long CoViD would end. But I need a caveat that we don’t really know yet, but hopefully it won’t last forever for anybody. Someone also posted they were really glad I posted the rules as it was helpful to them in someway.

This Janes podcast on ethics was really good and actually had a lot of relevancy for especially, conservatives and Republicans in this country, who have abused and subverted information dissemination, marketing, and election campaigns to where they don’t just spin things (which every political campaign has been susceptible to and probably guilty of all through history), but are literally outright lying to the public. Ethics are and should be involved in intelligence gathering, but also in intelligence dissemination. Obviously, as they even point out in the podcast, an intelligence operative gathering intelligence for Russia has a very different ethical concern then do say Ukrainians, or nearly any other intelligence agencies today.

If you’re trying to get into shape and you’re using walking as your exercise, try slightly tightening your belly, your core, and suck it in, trying to pull your belly button to your your spine, and walk that way as long as you can. At first it’ll be seconds. Then you can hold it for minutes. Take it easy, take your time, just keep doing it. You’ll be surprised the progress you can achieve. The thing is, to strengthen your core because then that muscle tone radiates out to the rest of your body and makes it easier to exercise and tone of other parts.

Ah, the uncomfortable part of a fall morning walkabout (or afternoon). When young children and a few parents are scattered about, walking to a bus stop, sometimes walking toward you, or along with you, as it may turn out. Why uncomfortable? Because you find you have to dodge kids sometimes, running around, not paying attention, or children, or parents, eyeing suspiciously. Where certain looks, fashion, race, or age group can appear unnecessarily more suspicious than another. Trying to not look suspicious when you’re just doing what you do every day and walking the street around and around until you get your steps/miles in. Good times! 

Personally, when my own kids were young, we got them personally to their school and back home by ourselves. Until they were older and took a bus. But speaking for myself, when I was out with my kid, every other human being in the world was “suspicious“. Something I never let my kids feel from me though. As when they were out in the neighborhood, yes, I would follow them. But they never knew I was there. Unless somebody, or a car had pulled up to them. Then I would just suddenly, be there. Which happily never happened. But if I were at home while they were running around the neighborhood, especially nowadays. How would I have known?

Quote from Janes podcast: While there is a role for AI, some in intelligence worry they will lose their jobs to it. Which is a misperception of its role, at this time. If you are intelligence gathering and you tell your boss, “the AI told me...“ That doesn’t persuade. Not yet, anyway. I found that a fascinating comment to make. Because at this state, AI still requires accounting, shepherding it carefully. Because we know that intent has much to do with what raw data implies. Which is how you get propaganda, and what Russia, and the Republican party (especially, the last couple of decades have been doing to an ever greater extent, then presenting to the public as if it actually meant something to the common voter). As George Canning said, "I can prove anything by statistics except the truth." Or, that there's "Lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Example, if you count Russian weapons and compare them to Ukraine's inventory, Russia is the obvious winner. But the "qualifiable variables" that Ukrainians have along with proper equipment, consistently bares out an entirely different scenario as has been presented in reality and the news. Regardless Russia's superiority in somethings, Ukraine has still been kicking ass.

This is what I am saying, don’t let your algorithms reflect your ethics if your ethics are bad. If your algorithm can properly reflect good ethics and you have a good algorithm, regardless either way, you need to apply your ethics against the raw data, Being careful that you’re not blindsiding yourself. When applying ethics to an unethical country, or action, as in Putin‘s Russia, and as we’ve also seen with the Republican party, viewing unethical behaviors through the lens of an ethical orientation can indeed, either further exemplify and enlighten, or utterly miss what is actually going on. Which is in part why Trump was able to become POTUS and why he continually got away with one crime after the other. Because he would do something stunningly wrong and before anyone could get up to speed about it, he would already have done something else stunningly questionable or wrong, so that it was just a matter of his punching and punching, numbing and numbing, normalizing and normalizing, and how he made it to the end of his presidency. That and his delaying and bullying tactics are why he’s gotten to where he has in our historical record. However now, he’s up against something those things don’t work so well with, especially when found up against the weight of hopefully "blind justice" which is finally enforcing him to be held accountable. We're just seeing the beginning of that and he could still wriggle his greased countenance out of it, but hopefully that will not prove to be the case.

Again from Janes' Podcast: the Russians have been wasting some of their very highly effective missiles on faked targets. Also they said on the podcast, if you’re listening to this and you’re confused about what your ethics are in your tradecraft, talk to your colleagues and see where you’re (all) at and what you’re (all) doing. Because you don’t want to find later that you ended up out there with potentially devestating, inadvertent effects.

Damn, just got hit with several tiny raindrops. It’s supposed to rain today but they said maybe not until the afternoon. Yeah, I’m walking through the occasional droplet of mist coming down, almost unrecognizable. I can see wet spots on the street here and there. I’m heading out now on my third lap and I hope to get in at least four miles today. So one more lap after this, unless it rains.

Next podcast today, Pod Save America: "Impeaching the Choir", with David Plouffe

I just stopped at home, dropped off my polar fleece shirt as it's warmed up slightly, hit the bathroom, and now I'm back on the road… 

And it’s not raining at all now. For now.

So the January 6th Trump insurrection commission hearing set for today was canceled due to the hurricane hitting Florida. This morning before I got out of bed NPR said it was going to happen at 10 o’clock Pacific time today. What? So having deleted my DVR settings to record for today, I took a look and just set to record those regular shows in the menu playing during that time just in case and it will record  while I’m walking. Weird, so is it on or off? I’m assuming it’s off. I actually went to the Congressional webpage for the hearing, where you can actually watch the video live and it's counting down today, four hours, three hours, two hours... before it begins. But I’m assuming when I get home they’ll reschedule it for probably next week. Because it would be unwise to say the least, to tell everyone it's cancelled and then change and put it back on since a lot of people who would watch it, then wouldn’t even know about it.

So the "let's make things equal" thing between John Fetterman and Dr. Oz, it was suggested that Dr. Oz should consider having a stroke (referencing his making fun of Fetterman who had one). Seems like a fair suggestion…

So the podcast is talking about the Republicans releasing their party platform? "A commitment to America"? I thought since Trump, they decided not ever to have platforms because then they could be held accountable? they'd actually have to do something. I mean, they really haven’t had much of a platform for years even before Trump. But as far as commitment to America, I agree, many of them should be committed and held (aside from in contempt) in a mental health trust. I might say by Democrats, but being that most of Republicans now are RINOs, probably should be by real and true fundamental Republicans, who still believe in democracy. Regarding Sen. McConnell signing the new bipartisan bill to block anyone like Trump from ever doing again what they tried to do in 2020 with the electors (which only Ted Cruz voted against), McConnell's really gotta go, that guy. He may follow the rule of law, which in his personal life and with his wife, I actually question. But he sure as hell doesn’t follow the spirit of it. Blocking allowing a president POTUS44, from his Supreme Court Justice nomination and then reversing all that to shove through their own Republican "Federalist Society" version of toxic conservative Christian nationalists, yeah… McConnell's really got to go.

So the first item in the Republican platform is based on a fever dream they dreamt up themselves which they can’t achieve on this platform because it hasn’t happened. But that’s par for the course and probably played at a Trump golf course. So they claim they’re going to stop the hiring of 87,000 IRS employees, which is ridiculous, because that number includes those who are retiring, includes even IT people and it takes place over 10 years. So again, more manufactured bullshit from Republicans because they don’t have anything good to offer. Like I said, par for their course.
Also. the reason we need to hire so many in the IRS is because the Republican Party has been gutting them for years to keep them from going after the wealthy and corporate. While they’re claiming the IRS is going to go after you and me. Which as we know Republicans do themselves all the time and want to do if they get re-elected. It would then be just more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate and they would tax the hell out of all the rest of us, the majority of Americans who really are struggling. 

All we keep seeing are Republicans inflaming people who feel hurt, because America is moving forward and they want to stop it, to reverse it to “the good old times“. Which means, "I get good old times". But for others it may have meant much harm or terror and death, for those far too many others.

What’s Republican's actual platform? Grievance and vilifying Democrats. I turn on my TV and I see commercials by both parties and the Republican, especially MAGA candidate commercials are all angry and fear invoking (at times creepy) and it’s like they’re talking to children who are scared of the dark. Typically punching down to (yet again) Immigrants and trans people. Really, they should be embarrassed.

I would say this especially about this podcast, if you’re a MAGA, if you’re Republican, if you’re going to vote Republican, or vote for God forbid (nobody’s this stupid, right?) Trump, then be a big girl or boy, toughen up and just listen to this podcast. Just ignore the stuff that pisses you off. Because they clearly detail how the Republican platform is disingenuous, and so many other things that Republican voters need to hear about. Because if you just believe this platform as they serve it up to you and just believe what they say in it, well, what they include in it is actually telling. Even more so what they exclude from it. Or what in it is the same as the Democratic platform except for the way  Republicans will execute achieving those goals, which would be pretty much the polar opposite.

Republican platform: “No details, but no enemy missed, either.”

Republicans mention at this point that if they get back in power, they will impeach President Biden. But for what, they don’t seem to know. Kind of shows how desperate they are. Exactly what we’re seeing from Donald Trump, by the way. Their leader. The Republican Party anymore just seems to be where we keep our political criminals until they’re indicted. Or get elected as president, which I’m sure, is yet to come.

Have you ever noticed whenever Newt Gingrich raises his ugly head, so to speak, Kevin McCarthy vanishes?

How can we be the most knowledgeable (not necessarily most intelligent) human beings in the history of the planet, with access to the most knowledge ever, and yet we’ve allowed ourselves to be dumbed down to where we praise leaders like a failed reality TV star, and narcissistic faux Billionaire? Well a third or so of Americans, anyway…

I haven’t said this for a while so it’s about time… We need to get dark money out of politics. We need to end things like Citizens United. We need to do something about the lobbyist problem. (this is going to hurt, or make some crazy) We as taxpayers should be the ones footing the bill for people to have campaigns to get elected. They don’t need to be getting all the money they’re getting. They just need media coverage and there’s lots of kind of that now. Though it would need to be strictly controlled so there’s no liars anymore. Seriously, they could still lie a little (we used to call that "spin", but whatever), but no more blatant outright absolute just a lie LIES! What would we get out of footing that bill? The most honest election campaigns we’ve seen in quite a while and an end to American citizens being just combustible fodder to be chewed up to fuel toxic conservative and toxic capitalistic goals... and if you want to also claim toxic Democratic Party goals to? Hey. Have at it. Because all of America would still win.

Cheers! Sláinte!

Walkabout Thoughts #4

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

Today’s podcast is from Politics War Room, with James Carville, Al Hunt, about Ron DeSantis, etc.

Today's Instagram post, and another exemplifying the horror element into, the banal.

It’s sad how in America anymore we’re living under a threat of fear from the right. And the right is living under a manufactured fear from the left. And again, I’ve said this so, so many times. How do I know I am correct? Because the majority of the country and the majority of the world agrees with what I think. While the right says the same thing, but they’re referring to the small toxically conservative and autocratic information bubbles around the world. Remember how during Obama they were selling T-shirts that said, "I’d rather be with a Russian a Democrat"? Russian people are a great people and culture, but under Putin, that’s what that T-shirt should say: "I’d rather be with Putin than Obama (or Biden, or any Democratic leader)".

How much is what ridiculous Republican Gov.s Abbott and DeSantis are doing has nothing to do with immigration, per se, or state resources they have had to utilize to care for them, so... they shipped people off to blue states? How much does it actually have to do with even one more blue voter potentially taking up residence in their self -perceived, wanna be only red states? Very little.

Note for self: Add links on my jzmurdock.com website about the Ash Black and maybe update it about the Kelly Hughes stuff regarding Gorst Underground Film Festival, Slash Nights, etc., to its Films & Stage page. [Done]

Regarding Mike Lindel‘s whining this past week about the FBI serving a warrant on his cell phone (maybe other things, I don’t know), if he runs several companies from that phone as he claimed, and if he’s a professional (LOL), does he seriously not back his digital work up, so if he needs a new cell phone (due to breakage, loss, theft, FBI warrant) then he'd be good to go? Unbelievable. And people trust this man? Why? And why, if he supports Trump, would anyone trust that his "business practices" are a good thing?

I’m a phenomenologist with a university degree in psychology from WWU. As I get older, I’ve been having thoughts about how one remembers things and how our memory works. I know that the things we remember best are things we repeatedly remember over the years. But I've wondered about our thoughts on things we haven’t thought about for decades. So I’ve tried to drum up some of those things but I can’t remember random things I try to call up. For instance. I know my girlfriend (whom I lived with through college) and I went and saw Ghostbusters, when it came out, up in Bellingham Washington. I remember that night clearly. But when I try to remember all movies we saw together over that five years or so (including time before and after we started college), I can’t remember all or most of them. I do remember the Ghostbusters night, because three guys who were in my year-long team script writing series of classes, worked there. They said we could come down and see a movie free sometime. We were all broke all the time, so we went for it one night and they did let us in free. After Ghostbuster at the multiplex, they said we could stay for another if we liked. While we wanted to go home, we thought we should take the opportunity. One of them said he was off shift and would sit with us to watch the movie. This was the late great actor/writer, Dave Skibinna (Mike Rainey was one of the others), Both of them were founding members of the Annex Theater in Seattle, which originated on Bainbridge Island, a fifty minute ferry ride away. Dave watched the second film with us while loudly commenting how bad he thought it was, irritated all the way through and pissing off everybody around us, making my girlfriend and I uncomfortable. I tried to laugh it off, while I tried to get him to stop. I wanted to watch the movie too and, it wasn't that bad. But I have to say that now years later, it's pretty funny. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about B-52 bombers lately. I was in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the USAF, in the 92nd Field Maintenance Squadron (92nd FMS). I’ve been reading about B-52s in a Facebook group dedicated to them. One of the guys in the group mentioned using the facilities to go to the bathroom inside the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker, or "fellow" when around civilians), while in flight. So there was one! A memory I haven’t thought about in decades. Where WAS the “bathroom“ in a B 52? Just now as I'm walking I'm thinking, "OK, so try to remember that." And I couldn’t. But I kept at it and finally, vaguely, I do remember being on the flight deck in the BUFF and asking the crew chief about it. Because of course I would ask about that as a new Airman standing on the lower deck, of a B-52 bomber I was there to work on as it was parked on the flightline being readied to either go to the Alert Facility after being uploaded with nukes, or to take off soon. So... there is an example of something I haven’t thought about in years but was actually able to drum it up in memory. Maybe there’s hope for me after all?

A fixed up, semi low-rider truck just went by me with its pipes rumbling, at about 15 miles an hour. I've see this guy before on my walks sometimes in the morning. Loud pipes are just no respect for other people. As it was with my Harley, though my pipes weren’t really really loud, but I did try to quietly get out of the neighborhood before making any real noise. Same thing with my Camaro back in the 70s which I had set up to do 130+mph, or so. That on my trips from Spokane to Tacoma (Fairchild AFB is just outside Spokane where I was stationed). I make that drive in an hour less than everybody else I knew. I had carefully selected my pipes for that car (and drive). When I left or returned home, the car was pretty quiet. But when you’re doing over 100 for a sustained period of time, it can kind get to your ears a bit. Though it wasn’t really loud, there was a kind of beautiful humming sound. Once I was at home with my best friend and my wife borrowed the car. So she gets to the stop sign three blocks away, turns left onto the main neighborhood road, and we both looked at each other because we could hear her punch it as the pipes opened up and we both had to crack up.
I also think about this from time to time though… how when I was a kid at eighteen, when I had my first Camaro (a convertible), 1967 SS/RS (the first model Z28 before it had that title), I always tried to be a good citizen and a good driver. Mom always said, if you guys drink, just don’t drive, or call and I'll come get you. So we were very good about that. Friday nights, we always had a designated driver. Who was miserable until the next Friday night, when they could party. But it also gave one a good perspective on what you looked like drunk, in viewing your friends drunk. Maybe it also tempered you a little. We are street racers in the early 70s. But we were as careful as we could be. We had a strip on the opposite side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a good quarter-mile race strip when around midnight or so with no one was around, we could drag each other. We also had select streets around town that we’re good for that. One especially that we loved. Called, Golden Givens Road. We'd show up there, stop at the end of the road by the stop sign, and do the quarter-mil. At 2 AM or something when no one was around. I liked to think I was pretty good in being a good citizen (again, as a street racer). The last time I went there back then, it was during the day and I realized that it really was a neighborhood. When we were there at 2 AM, squealing our tires, racking our pipes and racing in a quarter mile through that length of pure neighborhood, on that really nice, broad street...what the hell were we thinking? Well, obviously we weren’t very enlightened. We were young and dumb…and all that.
But...Be a good citizen. Be a good human. And be a good American. Be aware of others beyond yourself. Don’t attack other Americans, because they should have the right merely in being in America, or surely in being an American (assume they are, err on the side of caution and decency), and no citizen should be getting attacked by another citizen. Think about that, as a model for our country.

I save my coffee grounds for one of my kid's farm and they compost it. I have my Costco mixed nut containers and when they’re empty I use them to put my expended coffee grounds in every day. Takes a while to fill. If I notice mold, because normally the grounds dry out overnight before I dump them in the bin but sometimes, depending on time of year, they won't, I just toss the bin in my freezer for a hard freeze. If I leave it in long enough, the mold doesn’t seem to continue growing.

So I’ve heard before when you're working out, if you don’t sweat, you’re not working out yet. I’ve noticed the more in shape I get, the longer and harder it takes to get to that sweat. Just saying…cuz I was just noticing...

On a Donald Trump pardon… Here’s my thought, get him to promise to tell everything truthfully and he can have a pardon. Because... he won’t. Then you can get everything out of him you can and when you find a lie, that’s the end of the pardon...do not stop at Go and go directly to jail! Look, the guy's a pathological liar. And they will still be State investigations for laws he's broken and that he’s going to go to prison for (if there's any sanity left at all). I did hear a good argument for a pardon. To keep less informed and more childish MAGA types from self harm (harming themselves, others and America that is).

Two things about Trump being a FPOTUS. First, no one is above the law and that has to be the law. Former president or not. Second, Trump did not respect the presidency, the oval office, the White House, the US government, or our citizens. So as far as respecting him as a former president? Bullshit. He abdicated that right. As far as all other presidents before and after him and respecting the office? Once again we need to make it clear he, HE, did not respect the office. Turnabout's fair play. Trump needs to be broken and trashed for what he did so it never happens again. Otherwise this was all just practice for much much worse. and like James Carville said... If you left him having done what he did, flagrantly breaking the law in front of everyone, abusing the office of the president, why are you worried about dividing the country, something which he’s already done anyway. What does that say to our young people? To future Trump wanabees? Not to mention internationally, what damage has that and will that do with other countries, both ally and enemy? No matter how you shake this, Trump must be prosecuted. But not just punished. His actions have demanded he must have our most severe punishment. Of the capital type. Sure, as humanly possible, of course, but with all due and deserved prejudice.

Read Merrick Garland's speech from the other day. Which wasn’t political, but certainly was passion, because unlike MAGA or Trump, who faux-love America based on fantasies and ugly ones at that, Garland is a true patriot and the real Attorney General of the United States of America. Not a play wanna one be one like Bill Barr who acted as Trump’s puppet, for the most part.

As of today, since I caught CoViD in February 2020, and since I caught long CoViD again after my last infection back in March 28, 2022, today marks my first time walking 5 miles on two consecutive walks, the last one being last Thursday and today being Sunday. Progress after a long miserable bout of long CoViD I'm still trying to get over.

Something the James Carville podcast just mentioned about Salt Lake City and skiing, and basketball... anyway, it reminded me of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in September / October of 1975. It was a very confused flight of 50 Airman (or want to be Airman, you're not an Airman until you Pass Basic training), where some of us didn’t make it to the end. I think our Technical Instructor (TI, what some branches call a DI), was a security policeman. Scary tough looking guy who was hard, but fair and we liked him. I think he was a Tech Sgt. His assistant TI, I believe was a buck sergeant, a sweet, really nice guy. Not sure how he ended up as a TI. Anyway, a couple weeks into our six week basic training, our TI got pulled out and reassigned. So our definitely not ready to be a full TI yet, Sergeant, took his place. He was much easier to deal with, I don’t want to say, to push around, but to maneuver him. I was the front right Squad leader because I was tallest at 6’2”. Plus, in Civil Air Patrol as a kid I was a flight commander and I taught drill. I knew the Civil Air Patrol manual inside and out. I was a good instructor (after years in Karate as a younger kid). So under our new sergeant, he would sometimes call a marching command out (he was only a few feet to my right), I would call out, because I liked being a smart ass if I could get away with it and calling out illegal commands was nothing if not that, I would loudly say “Sergeant, that’s not a legal command.” It took a few times, but he came to realize I really did know how to drill better than he did. So if he made a mistake he would look at me and ask, with a smirk, "Is that right?" Until finally, he just told me to say the command and I would yell out whatever it was that HE wanted called, and correctly. I think it’s because apparently command at some point didn’t like his training and so they replaced him with a hard ass Master Sergeant who was a serious fucking sergeant and TI. First thing he did was demote our dorm chief and all four of us squad leaders. Which I certainly didn’t deserve and we complained. Honestly the dorm chief was kind of screwing up but he was a nice guy, too. We came close to cruising through basic training until the MSgt showed up. So we suffered through basic training. Before we graduated and became actual Airmen, because of my flat feet kicked I got kicked out of being headed into law-enforcement. Because I couldn’t sit in the squad car all day, or something. My first choice for a new job was flight simulator technician. Second was parachute rigger, since I’d been skydiving before. BUt that first job was quickly taken because it was popular. That hurt, it sounded interesting. With after Service job potential. And so I became a parachute rigger. They had to re-cut my orders, so I went into 30 days of what they call “casual“ after graduating basic. Which is where you just stay in barracks in a certain area (aside from all the basic training areas) with other barracks and all the other airman and women (women being separate) until your new orders were cut. It was kind of miserable as there was nothing to do but wait. Every morning you lined up and got chosen by whomever needed help, and then the rest we’re free for the day, if there weren't enough jobs. But a few of us who were left from our BMTS, our basic military training squadron, would meet up with the Airman's club and typically, just get drunk. Oh that reminds me, before we got out of basic training, some of the guys went to a San Antonio professional basketball game. The home team won. So they got the game ball signed by the team and acquired it for $50. We all then chipped in when they got back to the squadron and gave that team ball to our Sgt asst. TI because he loved that team. That’s how much we liked the guy. Final story about him. One night he showed up at the Airman's club, one of the guys had run into him and said we were doing that so we expected him. He sat with I think five of us remaining on base and we were very happy to see him. So we started buying him beers. He kept saying he had to go but we kept trying to get him to stay and with each beer he was a little more amenable to staying. Until finally... his wife showed up! Pissed off. Apparently, he was supposed to be picking up his new flight of 50 basic trainees who were left standing there wondering where he was. Actually it was other TI's standing around getting pissed off taking care of his trainees. So he said sorry guys, and quite drunk, he headed out with his wife to go pick up his new flight. It’s hard to remember now, but I think we found out the next day that he was OK. He didn’t get court martialed, or fired, but we were very worried about him and it was after all, our fault. Kind of. I mean, that's what his wife told us as they were leaving. When she picked him up. Though we made it clear we had no idea he had anywhere else to go. Basic training. Six weeks, maybe not as long as other services may be, but at least we walked out of there as Airman, knowing what’s going on in the Service, having had had classes in training, and beat and pushed and browbeat beyond our limits so we could handle being in the military, if not to some degree, war. And now Putin is going to throw 300,000 guys like that, with no training at all (as Russia uses OJT, On the Job Training), on the front lines of his illegal war in Ukraine, to die most likely. What an asshole.

A guy on the podcast just mentioned the new Ken Burns documentary on The US and the Holocaust. I watched the first two hour episode I have two more parts to get through. but I agree with the podcast that it is fascinating, ugly, but amazingly informative. I posted a tweet the other day saying everyone should watch this, most especially MAGA,as well as holocaust deniers (not that it will do any good). Specially holocaust deniers, a mindset even dumber than flattearthers. One of my tweets about it was because of my own World War I, filmic poem and documentary "Pvt. Ravel‘s Bolero“ which has won a bunch of awards around the world. In making it I would wonder, what would Ken Burns do? Thinking of him, made it a better documentary. When I finished it I wondered what this could be like if he redid my documentary. I even sent him a link to it, twice. Who knows, MAYBE he saw it? When I got to one thirty second piece of WWI that he did, a shot in particular exactly like one of the shots I made, of the firing of a big gun with associated sound effects. It was beautiful piece of editing/production work. So I did finally get to see what/how Ken Burns would do with the same (similar) material. Now if only he would let me know that he saw that 28 minute film of mine and... liked it, or hated it. I'd be good, either way.


Nixon's idea with China in the 70s was to bring them into the world in order to neutralize their path at that time. Some say that went wrong. But then, we hadn't changed out paths often enough along the way. Then we just caved and gave them massive IP of ours for cheap manufacturing. So how do we do this now with North Korea? Where all the typical fixes won't work? Perhaps, we begin to offer them technology that is only useful and good for their citizens' daily lives. Until one day maybe decades from now, we see happen what we are seeing now in Iran. Where the young have finally had it with all the restrictions and abuse and demand change? There IS a solution, somewhere, somehow. We just have to find it, and act on it.



At the end of the podcast, they got a listener question from Germany asking if political debates serve any purpose anymore. They agreed maybe it's run its course and isn't that useful anymore. But one of the podcasters said he once directed a debate up in the northeast in 2011 and one of the smart things they did was to have the debaters ask each other questions. As that shows a lot about them personally, and their platform in what questions they asked and just in questions that might not otherwise have been asked.


And that was the end of my second consecutive walkabout day at five miles duration! Progress! Take that Long CoViD!

Walkabout Thoughts #3

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

Today's walkabout Instagram Post.

Understand that video, requires this video from last walkabout.

On my previous walkabout, I posted the video on Instagram when I found a pinecone "street dam" that I assume was made by some kids. I came across it again today after many cars had driven over it and posted a new video. 

Is it sad? Or, is it just cool, temporary art of a sort?

What I find interesting about the pinecone dam/art is a psychosocial issue. That kids set up a toy/art piece/activity, that affected drivers who appear to have, at least some of them, aimed to crush pinecones not in direct path of cars. So essentially, children performed an activity and produced something that affected the social structure of driver's who maneuvered their cars tires over them. I just thought it was kind of fun to consider. Children, who even if unknowingly, had controlled a certain percentage of adult drivers to deconstruct their pinecone dam, which they had constructed. Cool.

OK. Anyway...

"Truth Social"...a phrase that will one day in history refer to an extremely venal obverse statement made unbelievably, in plain sight.

Remember "fag hags" from the 80s and 90s? So their daughters (maybe?), apparently, or something, moved over to the Proud Boys with their bizarre mode of homoerotic bluster, as Greco Roman wrestling  wanabees and tomfoolery. Just sayin'...

Today’s podcast is from the Lincoln Project on, We Are Proud Boys with Andy Campbell, from September 20, 2022.

It's no secret that military and police skew conservative. So of course there will be a found connection between them and conservative extreme right wing elements like MAGA, like seditionists/insurrectionists groups, like Oath Keepers, like Proud Boys, and such. Good cops and true military are not binary but fully based in reality, out of sheer necessity. Because lives depend on it. Because war depends on immediate and accurate reality. The world is not black and white. The world is shades of gray and at times in color, and highly complex. The goal of some politics to lean into simple catchphrases. Dumbing our reality down to a mob chant to aid in control of the masses. Even intelligent educated people enjoy that as entertainment. But when you apply your entertainment to your reality you’re only going to destroy what works all around you. And in our case, has worked for over 200 years. Boredom and a desire to be "greater than", has led to a destructive Republican party and unnecessarily confused, conservative mindset.

To be clear regarding Antifa and BLM, and left-wing protesters versus Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and right wing extremist groups in general…as this podcast points out, while the left has some recordings of destruction during protests, which are played over and over, for years by right wing media, those right wing extremists have vastly bigger numbers in attacks and destruction. (Which is why the FBI and Homeland Security are more concerned about them, far more than anything left-wing.) Which makes it look to conservatives as if the denigration applied to Antifa, and others from the right, is actually justified. When really, it's not but just more conservative right wing destruction porn and fantasy.

The reason our news media has failed so much over previous years is because they’re designed to report on “news“. But what they’ve been reporting on most especially from conservative right wing extremists, and the Republican Party anymore, is propaganda. Which by design is purposefully insinuated into news of any country, and disseminated to skew the reality of its citizens. The way in which media actually needs to report and dissect this "news" (propaganda), from interviews, actions and quotes by these extremists, under the adjuncts of journalism, makes it therefore to appear to be questionable, if not outright unethical. And therefore, propaganda wins. And so we’ve seen a Republican Party skewing ever closer to old tried and true Soviet/KGB propaganda methodologies from the 1990s until finally they elected a criminal propagandist, and so far have built up a façade that is not only inflated and incorrect (as is Donald Trump so much of the time), but literally criminal (also very like Trump).

A while back Trump started declaring Antifa as terrorists and then anyone he didn’t like, as Antifa. That then bled out into the conservative right wing and Republican party, because they felt they needed to follow the crowd that Trump was leading. It’s poisoned half of our political system and a third of our country.

Since January 6 2021, MAGA have attacked journalists. We’ve long talked about how horrible it is that journalist reporting on wars and in banana republics have been attacked, arrested illegally, tortured, and even killed. And now we’re seeing that beginning in America coming from Trump his right wing MAGA nuts and the Republican party at large, fearful of themselves, of MAGA, and of Trump. Damn, so much fear. Have some courage.

It took a while for Trump to claim media were the enemy of the people, until the bombs started showing up at their houses. But now Trump's Mar-a-Lago has had a warrant served for illegal classified documents he stole from the White House, Trump complains labelling it an illegal search, which it obviously wasn’t, and he calls out the FBI as evil or something. So they had to close ranks to a reasonable threat to protect themselves, as some Republicans, even in Congress have called for not only defunding but eliminating the FBI. Which is ludicrous. Just look at how much anti-crime and anti-terrorist action and the FBI does and not just nationally, but worldwide. It's idiocy.

The reason presidents have historically been so very careful about their speech and actions is not just to get reelected, not just to get their party reelected, after they’ve done their two terms, but because they can foment ignorance, dissent, sedition, and insurrection, so very easily. Inspiring violence by citizens against other citizens. Trump's attitude was just, "I don’t care, this is all about me, I’ll do anything as long as I can get away with it." Once Trump is gone, whether that’s into prison, reasonably executed by the state, or simply completely discredited, the poison he began is still in our body politic and will take years if not decades to go away. Consider the seed that can years later crack a boulder. And for that reason among others, Trump is our worst citizen, our worst president in American history and in the history of democracy in a large. Trump has created the illiberal playbook that can now be recognized and perfected over time. It could potentially one day, even a hundred years from now, be the reason American no longer exists. Thanks to Trump and this Republican Party, this Republican Congress, and this overly conservative (Republican) SCOTUS.

America is a young nation, with only another 50 years or so to be 300 years old. As we’ve seen with teenagers who commit suicide, in the majority of cases if you can just get them through those difficult years, they can be fine the rest of their life. Especially if they get the positive therapy required to re-orient them into adulthood.

My next podcast for my walkabout today is Political Gabfest From September 15, 2022, What if Ukraine Wins, with today’s guest Anne Applebaum, from the Atlantic.

I know how difficult this is for Russians, considering Putin‘s efforts squashing any citizen who speaks out against him or his illegal war in Ukraine. But Russia has got to start doing what Americans did with our anti-Vietnam war protests and actions against our government. Russia has to prove to those surrounding Putin, at arms length, within touching distance of him, to end his dictatorship. If not set up a situation where the news reports that Putin “fell “out of a window. This is really so stupid. If the Russian leadership could break out of there east versus west mentality, they too could be a functional and wealthier nation. They just have to re-orient what they think greatness means. Stop holding onto the past. It’s gone, because... it’s in the past. Build a new future and have the world join in with you. But first, you have to finally join the world. We're here, waiting.

Western intelligence has carefully looked at Putin’s using nukes since March 2022. When the Russian army left Kyiv, between that and other information, they came to the realization that Putin does not have a death wish and it’s not insane. But is working off a different set of principles and maybe, bad information. Putin is also considering his relationship with Xi in China and Russia’s interests in Africa. UK seems to have run out of weapons to give Ukraine. Germany is debating over what else to give.

What Russia or Russians want, has no effect on Putin who is going to do whatever he wants. Such is his perfected Teflon bubble of power. Which is why I keep saying, it’s gonna take maybe even one person, bumping him out that damn window. Giving leadership an opportunity to do what they can’t do as long as Putin is alive. Of if he’s one day only out of office. As with Trump, death benefits their country.

We need to consider the relevant information that what Putin wants is to return Russia to it empire glory. What we all need to understand is that is unachievable, no matter what happens. With that consideration, then how do we act? Fear of their nuclear weapons doesn’t benefit anyone. Putin in a position where he feels he will use them, also doesn’t benefit anyone. But there is a gap in between those two things that needs to be exercised and exploited.

Admittedly, tossing Putin out a window as many Russians (and I) have said, need to realize there is no path for succession. No one knows who would take over. And that may be how we resolve this. Find out, set up someone new and promote this idea to them. Divide and conquer.

We need as a nation, to start looking askew at any attracted to "strong leadership" or over strong leadership. That has to be made to be seen and felt as “uncool “. It’s a conservative notion, although there’s been leftist strong men in the world, to be sure. But for today in America, it’s a path, that leads to a road, leading quickly to a Freeway of autocracy.

On abortion, making it illegal at all from the national / federal level is not protecting against infanticide, but in emboldening and supporting matricide. Which was WHY it was legalized in the first place! I don’t see why that is so hard for antiabortionists to fathom. Ignorance? Brain damage? Political social disease? It's' foolishness.

According to medical experts, 24 weeks is when a fetus can recognize pain. Lindsey Graham pushed a 15 week ban on abortion because that’s when they can start feeling pain. Which is either a lie or is purely ignorant. 90% of abortions are done before 15 weeks. So that’s good. But Allowing a ban after 15 weeks, when it should be up to a doctor and the patient, is an undo restriction on women's, and not just women’s, civil rights. It also calls for the overall platform of conservatives and Republicans and Christians, who for the most part are anti-abortion, to support and empower what has long been a defective conservative ideology, overall. Not to mention that feeling pain, is really not a justifiable option, or at least criteria, for denying abortions. You’re going to put up a moment's pain against what could be a child's lifetime of pain and misery? As well as the family, the mother, the community, or the eventual death before birth of the fetus anyway, and/or the mother's? Again, this is basing politics of a minority against the majority which is abusive, immoral, and ignorant.

So-called "Self research" and  "home schooling" are fully dependent on the qualities and skills of the adults involved. My youngest was homeschooled and when put into school starting second grade, was tested and could have easily gone into fourth grade. We allowed skipping one grade because we were concerned about the emotional impact. Which was always someone of an issue, but not overly noticeable until it became a big issue at the age when all their friends were testing for a drivers license. When it became an emotionally crushing issue for them. But what about all the poorly self-researching adults and poorly homeschooled children, by their parents? Education is an issue of not only America’s economic security, but overall national security. We do have to be concerned with the rights and care of the individual. But that also has to be balanced with the same for the overall group and improved in between.

This is interesting. The other day I met a neighbor who was talking about the eagles in my backyard, on the top of a tree. I shot footage of them and made a silly small video about them: "Eagles & Crows". Anyway, he seemed to know all about those eagle parents. Who had. I think he said three eaglets. Once they were big enough they all flew them from my house in West Bremerton over to Seabeck where they taught them how to survive. Then they left them there and they came back here. Apparently there wasn’t a lot of food (somehow, in the Pacific Northwest). Now bigger, the eagles came back here looking for food but their parents wouldn’t feed them and were basically telling them to go back to Seabeck. Just thought that was all interesting... 

Walkabout Thoughts #2 - My Continuing Walk for Life (i.e., long CoViD)

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

Today's Instagram post.

Put somewhere in my new book, "Suffering, Long CoViD", about my orientation on major efforts in my life. Like this walking to get exercise to help with my long CoViD, and other things. Like how I got through college. I made it my one and only goal in life, over all other things, to achieve that regardless. Otherwise I could get repeatedly off track. Everything else took backseat to it. My attitude was either achieve that, or die. Literally. Once I started taking that attitude toward major efforts in my life, successes became normalized. 

At the top of yesterdays blog add a disclaimer about how I’m really not partisan, or never had been, until the Republican Party forced it as necessary, more and more, until they elected Donald Trump and made it impossible to be any other way.

As a interviewer one's job is to let the interviewee speak, but when necessary, to focus them and occasionally redirect them to the most poignant and relevant elements of their career, or life, or issues reasonably associated with those, and them.

Today I listened to podcast Rising Star - Music That Matters, episode: biGDream - Everybody’s High, with the amazing Godfrey Diamond (Sep 17, 2022 43 min 29 sec)

Look up album, Metal Machine Music, album by Lou Reed

Yesterday, I didn’t go for a walkabout and worked on my long CoViD experience book, cleaning it up, editing it yesterday, working on its daily log section, which takes up the last, I don’t know 2/3 of the book, full of raw data about those experiences. What I tried, what worked and what didn’t. Struggles I had with my doctor about what I knew worked and what he said... wasn’t yet in the literature. Picture that. You’re seeing what’s working, you’re feeling what’s actually working for you, and the VA is telling you there’s no foundation for that. Ah well Then you’re going, Hey, living this is my experience. And I think I’m more qualified than most to make these observations and judgments, considering by background. But I was also using the doctor's guidance. I tried things he suggested. Even when I knew it would fail until finally I had enough data to show them to prove my case. But when you have long CoViD, it’s asking way too much as you're fighting for energy and motivation to do anything, to feel normal enough just to function. And yet, you do it, you push yourself, or you get nowhere and in fact you go backward.

This podcast interview I'm listening to, is by my friend whom I've partnered with on projects for years, Kelly Hughes. They’re talking about how his guest Godfrey Diamond, produced the smash disco hit, "More, More, More", in the 70s and what a huge hit that was. Godfrey is saying how everybody passed on it! That’s just mind blowing considering how big we all know now that it became. Except for one guy, running Buddha Records, who passed on purpose as a technique, and then called back after everybody had turned them down and, got it for a better deal. And then it exploded. As Kelly says in the interview, that song hits you on the first note! So how did they not all want to grab it right up? And then Godfrey just says, “From your mouth to God's ears.” Kelly should get him back to talk for another whole interview just on his Frank Sinatra album, and I would suggest also, whatever his best rock album was for yet another interview.

My second podcast for the day: John Heilemann's Hell and High Water with Susan Glasser and husband Peter Baker, regarding their new book, "The Divider".

I think one of the best quotes describing Donald Trump is from Casablanca, “I’m shocked, shocked that there’s gambling going on in this place!“ That from a government official in the film and a much more likable character than Donald Trump. IF you understand his sociopathy and criminality. I won’t say people that who meet him, who find him nice, are stupid. They just don’t have the antenna I do and have all through my life. I could meet people who everyone thought was wonderful and knew, often in first glance, that they were not a good person to deal with. That had been proven and seen by others around me, time and time again, throughout my life. To the point which wife 2.5 finally said one day, "I’m never doing business again [this was in catering], unless you meet them first and give me your opinion."

Calling Washington DC “incestuous“ truly fits Donald Trump. One wonders just how many of his supporters truly find that to be attractive?

“Trump is a bully, a blusterer, and is making threats.” Susan Glasser

Regarding Donald Trump's indictment, we need a panel set up, because he is a special case… a panel with various criminologists, most likely from the DOJ, from the FBI, probably an associate member from the CIA, and maybe NSA. A sociologist, a psychologist or psychiatrist, or two, with his niece as an associate member, and a historian. Because that’s what we’ve got to look at to appropriately deal with in this clown who is trying to destroy this country, all for personal and professional gain… And definitely, for pleasure.

Frankly, the Trump supporters who think they are going to take up arms against America, really do not deserve this country. That could not be more clear to the majority of America and the vast majority of the entire planet. Even… those supporting him as in North Korea, China and whatever other petty despotic states are in that group.

Civil War in Americas not at hand. That is, it’s not about to happen. Just because those like Donald Trump are fomenting a Civil War, does not mean it isn't already here, though in a very much more modern form than we’ve ever seen before.

Yes we need to be careful about indicting Donald Trump. Because you have to prove in court in this country, to show reasonable doubt of someone being innocent of a crime, showing evidence they should be in court and could reasonably be judged guilty. Yes, Trump has proven time in again and I knew before he was even elected he was a criminal, he has shown us repeatedly he is a criminal, he has broken laws, and that requires indictments, trials, imprisonment, and in my view, eventual (as soon as possible) execution. All that in order to be sure this never happens again. I would also suggest upon judgment of guilty, at least one other person close to Trump, should at least go to death row for life, if not finally seeing execution of the full judgment of capital punishment. We have to act, or this will all happen again, and again, and again, until there literally is no more United States of America.

OK I’m not a supporter of Bill Barr. I don’t like the man. He does appear to be a mercenary. I’ve always seen myself as mercenary in that, when you hire me, I do what I was hired for. I'm then your guy. I'll fight for you. I work to make my boss look good. I support the entity, or company (or I won't take the job if I can't do that). However if I can’t do my job anymore, I’ll quit, if not also return the compensation, depending on the situation. Barr may have thought like many others that if he got fired, someone worse would come in, and he’s probably right. And that was the correct thought for the person before him as it ended up with Barr. But if I had been Bill Barr (though granted in consideration of being not Barr, but myself, still...), I would not have done half the things he did. Why? Because governments are a unique animal. When you take that position, as we all (should) know, you’re not swearing loyalty just to the president or your boss, which is actually the United States Constitution, as well as the Law and the spirit of the Law, all of which Barr failed to do. Until now, when he feels "enlightened" suddenly to speak out against Trump. White washing his past ill endeavors against America.

Yes, for those who thought Donald Trump was one thing as POTUS45 and then when he lost the election he somehow suddenly snapped or something...uh, No. This has been a natural progression on an easy slope downward from Trump scumbag to exponential scum bag on international levels.

Just happen to make this connection… This year is the first time in my life that I didn’t know a world, good or bad, without Queen Elizabeth. I also just found out that the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC), which I was in back in the late 70s, stopped existing as of 1992. That was a military command I had known of all my life until now, because I just found out. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a realization. But I grew up watching films like Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart, which came out the year I was born, in 1955. When I was a little kid, it was just one of those things that was always there. And I'd assumed, always would be. I saw B-52 bombers dropping bombs in Vietnam on the evening news. I literally worked on and in them in the USAF with a secret clearance for nuclear weapons to do that. But... thankfully, things change and things evolve. My preference? We could stop needing a military. At least for world problems. We should always have some form of a military with weapons, if for no other reason, to protect us, if not from extraterrestrials...which one could argue, we wouldn’t have a chance against, but it’s better to try and fail then to not try and find out later, you could’ve won… or just for dealing with inanimate objects on a trajectory to damage or destroy us. Which is why we now have Space Force, I would assume, and hope.

Walkabout Thoughts #1 - Walk For Life

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

Today's Instagram post (this post was shot just below this previous post).

 I've been fighting Long CoViD for over six months now. I'm finally doing better. I'm writing a book about it, so far titled, "Suffering Long CoViD" (LC). I'm doing better, but it's been a nightmare. Getting over it this much in this amount of time is very pleasing. First time was eight months going on eighteen months from February 2020 into the next year.

Part of my treatment has been exercise. Which I couldn't do for a long time. After a few months I started walking. Ten minutes the first day. Today I did four miles. I've gotten up to five miles (in walking every other day for a day of healing from the walk), but the poor air quality from forest fires in Washington state this past week shut down being outside (with this condition). We had I'd heard, twelve forest fires going on. 

To make the walks more endurable, I started listening to music. Then I got to where I would listen to a whole album. Then a couple. Finally switched to podcasts and found that much more useful. The walks, and the podcasts even more so, invigorated my creativity and I started taking notes on my walks.

I would use those notes when I got home (after taking it easy, hydrating), to work on my book on LC. Or posting to Twitter, mostly political commentaries but also just some thoughts on life at times. 

It has gotten now, with these longer walks to generate longer thoughts and more of them. It got to be burdomsome to post them to Twitter. Today it occurred to me to maybe just post them into a blog and be done with it. I liked that idea. It frees my time up. I want to get this book finished and out there. I haven't written in it all week as I wasn't feeling well and my head hurt all week long.

So, here it is, just posting all my thoughts in a blog. Apologies. Or, enjoy! Your choice.

Walkabout Thoughts:

I was listening to this past week's Pod Save America ep. 671 "The GOP's One Man Ban".

First, a disclaimer about how I’m really not partisan, or never had been until the Republican Party forced it as necessary, more and more over the years, until they elected Donald Trump, making it impossible to be any other way.

We need Republicans to quit trying to be "good" Christians and start being good Americans again. Stop following theology and get back to your science and medicine. Which at least has something other than emotions to do with women’s rights and having their choice of what actually needs to be done, over what some "morally" believe should be done.

Republicans are trying to eliminate democracy to decrease our people's control. Which would decrease the control of our people over our government. How can one not draw the natural conclusion that what they’re shooting for is a new version of the Soviet Union, this time through capitalism not socialism? The stupidity in the direction they are taking this is mind boggling. It makes one wonder how an enemy nation isn’t pulling their strings on them. Which I don’t believe they are. So why are they acting as if that IS the case? Just as Trump did, making us all think he was a Russian agent. Which he still is acting as if he is.

Liberal's politics have a base of science & ideology, ideology that’s based on people, community and the future. Conservatives, especially MAGA follow their ideology as it leads them (as Donald Trump's Chief Ideologist Steve Bannon designed for him, as Trump had none before him, as filthy and disgusting at it is), but doesn’t give a shit about people, or anything except following dogma. This is a form that has started wars, genocides, has weaponized faith and now Republicans who lean deeply into it offering their assuming power and control, and money thru lies, leading they think, into a civil war. Which is already engaged. It's just evolved beyond the form of our first civil war.

Republicans have attacked conservatives who well may be smart, who try to be, to recognize threats, but are not wise. Wisdom recognizes threats but also sees the other side of that in any instance or situation, in evaluating a threat, and then tuck it away if that’s the best choice. Which so often it is. This excessive carefulness in thought, has created MAGA who attack unnecessarily and actually attacks the very things those people believe they are fighting for. It is again that pilot who is upside down and pulls "upward", directly into the ground in being utterly disoriented, but trying to do the right thing.

By the way, voting for anyone who appears "better than Trump", is not realistic. It’s defeatist. It’s accepting the lowest bar he did everything in his power to lower, minute by minute.

I’ve been saying this all through the Trump administration years, that the only thing more dangerous than an idiot like Trump as POTUS is someone who’s not an idiot but tries to imitate Trump. Which makes them far more dangerous. Yes, I’m talking about DeSantis, or people like him. Just another faux conservative bully. So for those voting for DeSantis who are breathing a sigh of relief, stop it! Hold your breath until he is off the political field.

The problem with researchers who studied biking vs walking, who say that mile for mile bicycling is equal to walking, seem to be ignoring the fact, or the caveat is not getting out, that when you’re coasting, you’re not walking. If half of your bike ride is coasting, that’s not walking.

To my friend and fellow director (and podcaster) Kelly Hughes: I would like to propose something to you. I use my postings in social media, which admittedly are generally political or entertainment based, to hone my skills in debate and being concise. Which leads me to research, honing those skills. I’ve been using Instagram in recent months to do just that, with my camera work. I would propose start using Instagram, try to see things in your environment that are worth sharing, then shoot it in a way, within 30 seconds or less, that sharpens your camera work and filmmaking skills, exhibiting that to the public. That seems to be why I have been getting up to 30,000 views on some of my videos. Also, for you, your best skill may be your voice, interviewing and commentary, especially off the cuff. So you could shoot videos where you have only a few seconds to say something clever, to sound clever and interesting. Decades ago I heard a famous author say that one of the best ways to prepare to write a novel is to write the shortest stories you can, down to a paragraph. Which I did practice doing. Some will argue that’s not how you learn to write a novel or book. Which is true, because that’s far more complicated. But every novel or book is a sentence or paragraph first. Some of the best fiction I've read are essentially short paragraphs which are little essays that lead to a larger cohesive whole.

This is not a country founded on Christianity, but initially a country of mostly Christians who founded a country for freedom, All in part because of abuse of religious beliefs in the countries those people's ancestors fled from. It makes no sense therefore, that a minority who are theists, attempt to apply their specific theology in their freedom of thought, and work to subvert our government, to apply all that against other people's freedoms of action.

The theory of the "attacking dying wild animal" fits so much today of what’s been going on. We’ve called the Republican party a "zombie" party for years. Conservatism, toxic as it is, is broken and dying. It's been trying to kill itself. Religion too has been broken, mostly by reality over hundreds if not thousands of years, is also dying. I see this in many places. I’ve been fighting long CoViD now for going on seven months, not for the first time in over two years. When I got my updated booster last Monday, I went through hell week, until I woke up Saturday morning and felt it was almost gone. Again as if the virus was an attacking dying wild animal. So don't assume what you're seeing around us is a growing movement, but a dying while animal, made "wild" by consent and with purpose of its leaders.

Maybe I should start blogging these walkabout thoughts, instead of tweeting them. Because it’s getting burdensome to Tweet them all. Then I could start a new series of blogs of my "Walkabout Thoughts", or something. "Walking Thoughts"?

And...here we are.

Cheers! Sláinte! Na zdravie!