READING THE TEA LEAVES 10A

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE READING THE TEA LEAVES 10A Nothing new, ever, under the sun. History is slow to change, time moves slowly, and if you agree, then it is your own fault. Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, change lives suddenly, and they do occur suddenly and lives are changed, fortunes too, sometimes forever. And then there are wars and revolutions too. We, in America, are not concerned, we haven't had a war, on our land, in forever, revolution was 250 years ago, civil war over 150 years ago, even the great depression is a century old memory, a few left of those that actually lived through it, as a child then. We are used to having things go smoothly, no wonder that we are, almost, childish in our expectations, dreams and fantasies. Forgive me for pointing it out. Years ago, I mentioned ( compared) our thinking to that of Don Quixote, but you have to know the story. It is not just some high school dropout with three kids that has very high expectations, it is also some part time worker at a minimum wage job, a small contractor or business owner that has great plans. Success sure is easy, but you have to have the knowledge, determination and luck too. Like I have said, if everyone could be "great" or a multimillionaire, we wouldn't be talking about great people and the multimillionaires, would we now! Like it or not, ready or not, in about three days, and a few hours, the world will change, doesn't matter who you are, where you are, (in the great scheme of things), your life will change, it may be sudden for some, and slowly for many more, but it will not be the same, not for a very long time, most of us are in for a shock. Good or bad, you probably don't have any idea. We all agree that things ( actions, policies) have consequences, but most of us don't know all the consequences, to paraphrase the great Donald Rumsfeld, "there are unknown unknowns"! And there is the rub. So let's talk about some unknown unknowns soon. What do you expect? Please comment, post your opinions, remember there are two sides to every coin. Join the conversation. I WILL WRITE MORE SOON M. N. R. 17 JANUARY 2025

IT'S ONLY WORDS 3A

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE IT'S ONLY WORDS 3A It's been a slow day, again, maybe it wasn't the day, but me, I've been slow. I like cold compared to "hot", anything over 85f , but now on blood thinners for 13 years, cold is starting to get to me too, and it rained today. That is neither here nor there, life goes on, till it doesn't. Some people believe that one day we all must answer for what we do in this life, if one really believes thar, then how does one prepare themself? Could you? Could I? Honestly? Forgiveness is not granted, it is earned, or so we are led to believe. Hopefully we earn it, each day, by our acts. But I am not "preaching", not me. Religion is totally a personal matter, so says the #Constitution, only a Communist society will control or even impose a particular dogma.( so says the Communist manifesto) Sometimes we feel smart though, it is all we know, all we know is facts, we know, everyone we know agrees, light was always white until Newton invented the rainbow. Things have been going downhill since. And the earth used to be the center of the universe. There are things more important to me. More than lower grocery prices, more than drilling for more oil, more than deporting all the illegals, yes sounds crazy doesn't it! I think about the future of my grandchildren, five and two. We are told we need to have more babies, but at almost 73, I think I am out of the running. But why do we need to have more children? AI promises to make many jobs/ professions obsolete. Lawyers, pharmacists, engineers, clerks, and more. Robots will be replacing many others, welders, mechanics, brick layers even farmers. So what will people do? And who will provide for these people that we are supposed to produce. Our "rich", bankers and corporations already are not willing to pay a living wage, don't want to provide healthcare, don't want to feed the hungry or house the homeless. So what's the plan? Is there even a plan, have you ever wondered? Share your thoughts, share what you know, I am willing to learn. COMMENT! I WILL WRITE MORE SOON M. N. R. 13 JANUARY 2025

READING THE TEA LEAVES 9B

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE READING THE TEA LEAVES 9B Well ofcourse, it is that time of the morning again. That means it is past any reasonable bed time. I have never been the one to go to bed early. Not in my teens, not in my twenties. Up until year and half ago, when I retired, it meant a four or five hours of sleep a night, in my 20s to my mid fifties that meant 2-4 hours. Not so bad now, I get 6-7, I am good. So we will take Greenland, and Panama, we will take Canada and Mexico. Maybe UK, they owe that to us for ruling us unfairly a couple of centuries ago. Things don't always work out the way we like, this will be a some kind of consolation prize that way. It was probably six weeks before the election when I made some predictions. Trump will win the election, I had said. The markets show a Trump win. Media disagreed, pundits disagreed, but I don't have a reputation so I didn't care, wrong, so what. I also said that the inflation will be up, that the interest rates will not come down, the deficits will not come down, the federal debt will keep growing. Food prices will probably double over the next three years. ( You may want to copy this and shove it in my face when this does not happen). Not that we were deliberately lied to. Atleast now we have Musk in charge. He is good for a couple of great policy ideas, but he is focused elsewhere, like on things he doesn't know about. The British monarch can not dissolve the parliament. And like it or not, American and German public do not support actual (known) Nazis, not openly anyway. So he has got us in a pickle. Maybe he has brilliant ideas about fighting California fires, you think? Or the rich people should be required to have private fire fighters, like their private security guards and private police units, just thinking. Anyway, what do you think will happen with inflation and the food prices? Or you are focused on invading Greenland and Panama. What are you thinking about? Let's talk. I WILL WRITE MORE SOON M. N. R. 10 JANUARY 2025

READING THE TEA LEAVES 9A

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE READING THE TEA LEAVES 9A I've been slow(er). Actually started to write on the 2d and got distracted. Not by events in my personal life, but the world around me, the neighborhood, town, state, world. Why not? I am retired, my kids are out of the house, I have few things of any import. Do you also watch the world events? Obsessively? Like I do. I watch the world. It is hard to admit that life is meaningless and without value. Yes it means a lot to you as a person, to your loved ones, maybe even your friends and colleagues, but in the "greater" scheme of things you, I or anyone else, NO! If it really did then those in power would care. They don't. Look around you, how many "important" people die, yet the world goes on, and it will just go on, till it doesn't. Sad to think that way, but that's the it is, it always has been, it always will. The Kings, presidents, philosophers, the scientists, business leaders, all die, have died, will die. What's the point of all this. Bear with me. We live in a democracy, we have freedom, we have rights, really? How? We are watching a puppet show, and we don't know who the puppeteers are, we don't even care. The puppeteers don't want us to know, they don't want us to revolt. And we are comfortable. Because we like it this way. We are told that we like/want it this way. I have used the example of " The Matrix", and I have used the example of "Inception", but we are living the reality of " Truman show". For the past 50 years, we have been programmed as predicted in "1984" but we still believe our "betters". Left, right or center we are constantly being programmed, and we willingly take our "Soma". We have confusing aims. How is it that no matter what side we are on, what direction we take, we end up at the same dead-end? Ask yourself, I need answers. I WILL WRITE MORE SOON M. N. R. 06 JANUARY 2025

IT'S ONLY WORDS 2A

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE IT'S ONLY WORDS 2A HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE AND IF YOU HAVE JOINED RECENTLY, WELCOME AND THANK YOU, PLEASE SHARE THE PAGE, POSTS, WHATEVER! I used to write almost daily, been lazier than usual recently. Over the last 18 years of blogging, I have written some 3000 posts, (articles, dissertations, or diatribes). I have written on politics, the economy, psychology, culture, education, healthcare, death, and more. I even wrote about immigration, euthanasia, law enforcement, and yes prostitution. So I am probably not shy. Many, if not most of us, are not "confrontational" in the ordinary course of our daily lives, but the internet makes us feel freeer. It also makes us able to lie, to insult to even dehumanize others without the fear of consequences. Maybe I fit that category myself. But I do keep it honest. If you and / or someone else are in a discussion, best to keep it civil and to provide evidence to back up the claim. Also, like grown-ups, we should accept the factual evidence if provided. If I make a statement, I always make sure that I have the background knowledge and information. Even when I share a post, I try my best to make sure it is truthful, some are pure parody or satire, hoping we are all adults and discerning. Meanwhile, I'll keep posting, and hope you will stay a while. Keep me on my toes. Stay blessed M. N. R. 04 JANUARY 2025

IT IS JUST A STATISTIC!

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE IT IS JUST A STATISTIC! End of the year statistics released by Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit research group that has been tracking police killings in the US since 2013, found that police in the United States killed over 1,250 people in 2024. This grim figure marks the deadliest year ever recorded by the organization, which tracks police killings by government records and news reports. Police killings have risen at a steady pace over the last decade in the United States, from just over 1,000 in 2014, to over 1,200 in each of the last two years. Overall the research group found that there were only 13 days in 2024 in which police did not kill someone. On average, Mapping Police Violence found that someone in the US succumbs to police violence roughly every 7 hours. While the vast majority of those deaths were the results of police shootings, cops also deployed tasers, batons and their vehicles with deadly force. Notably only 31 percent of police killings, 387 people, began with an alleged violent crime taking place. On the other hand, 18 percent of those killed by police—over 200 people—were killed after being pulled over for an alleged traffic violation or after police were called to conduct a welfare check. Another 8 percent were killed in situations in which the victim was not alleged to have committed any crime, while 17 percent were killed in situations in which police alleged the victims were perpetrating “other non-violent offenses.

READING THE TEA LEAVES 8B

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE READING THE TEA LEAVES 8B It is 1 am, I am fighting the urge to go to bed, sleep, rest, forget about things. I have made it past 72 1/2, most of the people I knew throughout my days are either sick or they are dead. I would love to live on for while, as we all do, I think but I am not too sick nor have I given up on life. So here I am. I am still involved! In 23 some odd days, we will have a new government, hopefully the country will stay at peace, nobody will decide to show their "behind", and we will move on. Hopefully we won't start a 3rd world war by then. Not for the lack of trying it seems. Back a few days ago, I had mentioned ( as I said a few times before) that our elections themselves have become a conspiracy against the nation. Look back over the last forty or so years, each time, we had lousy choices, people with no vision or an agenda to improve the lives and the lot of the working class. Yes we have created multimillionaires and even billionaires but the lot of the working class has not improved. Worse, the people with a couple of million actually believe that they are rich, that they are smart, that they have done great, while the fact is that if you had a mere 100K back in the 70s,, you had more money than a net worth of 1 million today. Housing, cars, healthcare, utilities, rent every thing was 20 times cheaper. And you had company retirement, and healthcare was provided for many workers by the employer. But that neither here nor there. But, I said that bothsides screwed the public, meaning we were gonna be screwed either way. Biden was a fool long before he became the president, some say, well he was better. Spare me, what did Biden actually do for the working class, he too had four years. Where was the push for a higher minimum wage? What about improving the Healthcare system? What about holding the employers responsible for hiring illegal aliens, how about doing something about surveillance of citizens, privacy protections, I could go on. But all the attention was on Ukraine or abusing the protesters that were against his policies, and yes, bad mouthing Trump. Yes, it has been a conspiracy between both parties. I look for a " concept of a plan" for the next four years also, my mind is blank. Really, we are talking about deporting the illegals, flying cars, colonizing Mars, the AI, and drilling. Or taking over Canada and buying Greenland. At 72, I no longer have wet dreams though, not much into masturbation either. How will my social security be protected without cuts, how will I pay for my prescription medication, how high will the food prices rise? And more importantly, what kind of a world my grandchildren and their grandchildren will live in. Let's talk about things that matter to the nation, not about gays getting married or the minorities getting or not getting jobs. Read between the lines, get away from the headlines and use your head. Let's talk about things that really matter. I WILL WRITE MORE SOON LORD WILLING AND IF THE CREEK DON'T RISE! M. N. R. 27 DECEMBER 2024