Wind And Rain.

       Alas it appears the wall along the Mexican border seems less and less likely to be built. But there is a wall that has been proposed to be built and it's far more likely to happen. A sixty mile "spine" of concrete and steel along the Texas Gulf Coast. What for, you may ask? As protection from larger fiercer storms. You know, like the ones caused by global warming. This "spine' would protect lands from the Louisiana border to south of Houston including "most of Texas' thirty oil refineries."
       Does anyone see the most interesting part of this wall? It's going to protect nearly thirty oil refineries. The very refineries that are a major cause of global warming causing these storms to be more fierce. After all, we can't have oil refineries getting shut down again by the storms they are responsible for. Didn't this happen once before? Hurricane Harvey shut down about a quarter of those refineries causing gasoline prices to go up about 28 cents a gallon.
       I'm surprised the oil companies aren't cheering for another hurricane to hit and knock out even more refineries. They could then raise the prices up, oh, maybe 50 cents a gallon and then ask for federal help to rebuild the refineries. This could become an annual price slam as long as the Hurricanes cooperate.
       And guess what, friends? The price tag for this wall along the gulf coast would only cost taxpayers a measly twelve billion. They've already approved 3.9 billion for three separate barriers for the refineries. Does anyone understand the costs of global warming yet? What's a little wind and rain.
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Truth Or Consequences

       The one thing I never knew but now have learned? The truth is not the truth. By golly that could be useful in a lot of situations and to a lot of people. Just think, if you get caught speeding and at your trial the police prove that you were speeding, you can always say "Yes your honor, that's the truth, but the truth is not the truth." You just might be acquitted. After all, if its good enough for the council to the president, it should be good enough for you.
       There are often two sides to every argument. Your side and the other side. When your wife accuses you of being out drinking last night with your friends, you can accept that as the truth but the actual truth might be that you were also playing poker. It would be the truth but it could get you in even more trouble.
So which truth do you ascribe to? Drinking or gambling? Or could you say, you were merely attending a rally on the dangers of not telling the truth. But what happens if she says you were not there because she didn't see you. The truth is not always the truth. She was out playing bingo all night.
       Think about how many times or how often the truth is not the truth you want to adhere to. What about your college graduate daughter who you believe to be too young to be dating. The truth is, you've been neglecting the truth that she is an adult now. Ya see? The truth is not the truth.
       So when a politician tells you the truth about his or her accomplishments while in office, that truth is definitely not the truth, and when that same politician tells you its the other guy's fault, well you guessed it, that's not the truth either.

What? No Regulations?

      Now there's an idea worth exploring. According to an article in the New York Times, President Trump is planning on overhauling  the nation's climate change regulations. His idea is to allow states to set their own regulations or even not have any regulations. It certainly makes sense if you happen to have lots of coal and lots of coal burning plants. Just think, West Virginia could allow manufacturing within their state to pollute the air with no emissions regulations.
       And if the wind is just right, which it mostly is, all that pollution would move east over Virginia and other states in it's path. Even better would be more industrialized states deciding to do the same. That way the medical profession could prosper much more in states east of those unregulated states. I'll bet that if we wanted we could create smog at levels never seen before.
       Look, it took decades for us to eliminate or at least cut back on the kind of pollution that kills people. It's the kind of pollution that also is killing our planet. You may not believe in Climate Change, but that doesn't mean it's isn't happening, whether you believe it or not. It doesn't mean that emissions regulations aren't saving untold numbers of lives, just because you don't think so.
       Now I hope I'm preaching to the choir, and I think that most of my friends and relatives would be against this brainstorm Trump is having on emissions, but I also know that some few of you just don't get it. Those folks will probably go to an early grave still thinking that coal dust is good for the veggies.
      

The Enemy.

      Just who is the enemy of Americans? Is it really the news media? Is your local newspaper your enemy? How about the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or the Washington Post? How about MSNBC or FOX News? If you don't like what these news outlets have to say, does that really make them enemies of America?
       You need to understand that news outlets were what helped our nation become an independent democracy. They kept us informed about our successes and failures in wartime and in peacetime. They told us of how Nixon had done wrong and how Lincoln had done right. They told us why some wars were just and others were not.
       Without news media to keep an eye on government, a criminal element could easily take command. We may not like the views of the opposing parties, but its the only way to learn the truth. Because both the right and the left are right part of the time and both are wrong part of the time. It's the media that tells us when both are wrong at the same time.
       To suggest that all news media or even a very few are our enemy is dangerous to our democracy. The very first amendment to the Constitution gives them the right to warn us of government overstepping its authority. To make us aware of disasters and even good news from time to time. We are informed by the news media whether we like it or not. And we need it whether we like it or not. The real enemy is the one who tries to get us to believe that the media is the enemy.

Climate Ain't Just Your Weather.

      Climate change isn't the daily weather, but the daily weather makes or breaks climate change. It takes years, decades of years to make our climate change from what it was to what it is and what it will be. Can you make or break climate change? No. It's bigger than you or me, its about what all of us do that can change what will happen to our climate. But one thing's for sure. If we don't change, then the climate will continue to change, for better or for worse.
       So, I live in the Northeast. We're accustomed to fairly cold, hard winters. It might be nice to have milder winters in the future. Except it'll mean more bugs in the longer, hotter summers. And life in the south will become very unpleasant in the summers. But what about droughts and too much rain? Are we ready for those kinds of changes? Storms that keep getting worse and worse, and hot dry lands and wildfires more dangerous each of the passing days.
       The thing is, we can guess and try to understand what climate change will mean to our children and grandchildren, but we can't know for sure. So which is the wiser course; just shrug and go on as usual as if nothing bad will happen or fight the change by cutting pollution and doing without a very few non-essentials. Do you really need that huge, fuel hog SUV as your second car? Why not a somewhat smaller size? Let's all drive a little slower.
       It's either that or invest in much more powerful air-conditioners. And think about giving up those SUVs all together in favor of ark style boats.

No Trust.

       Ya know, our forefathers were not a trusting lot. They didn't trust presidents to act in the best interest of the people. They had had a king and didn't like it. That's why we have a Congress. In theory the Congress would put a hold on the President. And if that wasn't enough, they put a judiciary in place to keep them all honest. They didn't envision a single party in charge of them all. Congress was supposed to be politely against what the President wanted to do. And the judiciary was supposed to tell them all if they weren't following the constitution.
       The thing is, our founding fathers just didn't trust presidents to do the right thing. They trusted Washington because they knew he didn't want the job. They would have loved Lincoln and FDR and Ike might have been a favorite. JFK certainly would have been in their hearts. Even Reagan and Obama would have met with their approval, but some would have proven to them that they had been wise in having three separate but equal divisions of government.
       Our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves to see those separations becoming one. When a Congress becomes an apologist for the President and a judiciary becoming the yes men we're in trouble. The only thing that can save our democracy is an election. This November that election comes about. The reigning party must be committed to a minority status if we are to have a strong democracy again. If you don't believe me, ask one of our founding fathers by reading about him.

557 And Counting.

       Hey, need a number to bet on? Try 557. Its the number of migrant children still being held while their parents are out of the country or otherwise not available. Out of the country? What exactly does that mean? Did they go on a cruise or are they visiting royalty in Denmark? Most likely they were deported out of America to their homeland, which they just recently fled. Meanwhile the American government still wants to punish them by keeping their children.
       But what about those children? Are they still keeping them in summer camp for fun and games? Or are they keeping them in cages like unwanted pets at the Humane Society? Ya know we have to show the world we're serious about protecting our border. So criminals and terrorists and babies are being held in prison. That'll teach the world not to mess with us. Just use a different border.
       I'm just not sure about the babies. How are they a threat to America? Do they plan to undo our constitutional right to freedom of speech? Or is it the Second Amendment? Maybe some other amendment is in jeopardy from these children. Surely we're not punishing children for the crimes of their parents, real or imagined. And I can't bring myself to imagine we are punishing them because they are not like us. Of course that's true.
       These children and their missing parents are not like us, are they? After all they came from a central American country. They didn't come from any European country. There you have it. What better reason does our government need than that they're not just like us.