Thoughts Aloud

Author Archive

As much as I have enjoyed participation in these conversations in the past, it has taken a turn that I do not enjoy in the least. Perhaps, as Jim suggests, that is because I cannot effectively respond to his arguments. So what? You either spend your hours doing what you like or you are a fool.

I leave you all with one parting comment… insult intended:

It is possible to be blinded by your own brilliance.

Troy

St J9 and I are off to Russia for a while (river cruise from St. Pete to Moscow). Feel free to trash me while I am gone but expect no responses (not taking PC even though there is WIFI onboard).

Cheers,

Troy

There are many, including me, who are very worried about the current drift of our Republic and who express that worry aloud, hoping to spur others into action while action is still possible. We truly mean well but I am now not so sure we have done well.

For my own part, I have tried to peer as far into the future as I can, with an eye as to where I think this is all leading. In doing so, I fear that I, and others like me, may have done a disservice despite our good intentions.

What an I talking about? Simply this. Despite our obvious (to me) deterioration as a self-governing Republic, the fact remains that we are still among the freest people ever to inhabit this planet. For instance, we are having a discussion, of sorts, about Assassination Politics, in an open and public forum without the slightest fear that there will come that knock at the door in the middle of the night with some frightening character saying “come with me”.

Does this sound far out? Well, it does only to those who are ignorant of both history and current events. The fact is that there are relatively few places on this Earth where we could get by with the conversations we have here. Not just AP but me, calling the former President of the Republic (and several of his minions) “traitors”. And, we sign our missives with our own names without fear of anything worse than disagreement within the forum. Whether our ideas are true or not is not the issue – it is the fact that we can offer them without any fear of physical retribution that counts.

I think it is healthy to publicly discuss our errors, to try to learn from them and maybe even seek ways to improve. But, in doing so, we should not lose sight of what we still have. If I have contributed to such loss of sight, then I am truly sorry because that was never my intent.

The fact is, I think this Republic is still worth saving and, indeed, can be saved. We might even have a President who agrees and is trying, in his way, to do just that.

Think (not feel) about it.

Troy L Robinson

I realize that I often express what, for some of you, seems an odd point of view. For some reason, I feel compelled to attempt to explain myself.

For years, I was a systems analyst at IBM, and also a bit mentally challenged (I am a highly functioning autistic).

Over the years, I began to think that I actually knew what I was doing – at least part of the time. Following is a bit of what I think I learned:

–> All things that involve more than one active component are systems.

→ All systems naturally seek a level of equilibrium because a system that is seriously out of balance cannot function.

→ Many people who study a system and detect an inevitable flaw (nothing is perfect) mistakenly conclude that they can “fix” the one flaw while the remainder of the system will continue, unchanged. This is always false because when you change any attribute of a system, its equilibrium is also changed. As the system seeks a new equilibrium, the initial change will radiate through the system, often changing it in ways that the original change agent neither anticipated or desired.

→ I am convinced of the truth of the above because I have used it to great advantage in my career. While the best analyst can never fully predict all the changes that will be triggered by the initial “fix”, simply knowing that they will likely happen better prepares one to deal with the reality of what one is doing – as opposed to the “good intentions” that originally motivated the change. My overall explanation is that this is simply part of the “connectedness” of everything in the universe.

→ While this is a gross oversimplification of a complex issue, and I realize that this is more than a little abstract, it very accurately describes how my mind works and, I hope, will allow you to better tolerate my sometimes strange conclusions about things.

BTW, if some of you are wondering why I recently became more active in this blog again, it is because I got some steroid shots for my arthritis problems and, as a result, am taking far less oxycodone, leaving my mind clearer.

Thank you for your forbearance.

Troy L Robinson

One might think that, given the conversations RE: AP, that I am some sort of government apologist. Let me assure you I am anything but. Ergo, the following confusion in my mind:

The outcry over the meanie Trump separating minor children from adult criminals at the border has now reached a new level of “theater of the ridiculous” in the growing call to eliminate ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Let us think about this a moment: ICE is a law enforcement arm of the executive branch of our government that is tasked with the enforcement of laws duly passed in our legislature and signed into law by presidents past. Admitting that ICE has its share of bullies, just as does any other group of humanity to whom some level of power has been conveyed… in the main, it attempts to do nothing more or less than enforce the law in a legal and proper manner and in the plain sight of the citizens they seek to protect.

Yet, thousands of loonies demonstrate and demand its dissolution. Well, our Constitution does give loonies the right to bay at the moon if they so desire.

Meanwhile, there is a clandestine organization in this same government that operates in the shadows and has been proven repeatedly to violate our laws by domestic spying on our citizens. I refer, of course, to the NSA (National Security Agency). Unlike ICE, these people are a real and present danger to the liberty and the right to privacy of our citizens. Yet, I see no demonstrations against them, no demand for their dissolution. Even after whistle blowers like Edward Snowden have shown us indisputable evidence of their crimes. Indeed, many of us have been brainwashed into thinking Snowden is the criminal rather than NSA.

Is there a point to this rant you ask? Yes there is. That point is to illustrate how disconnected we have become, how we constantly fail as the ultimate watchdog over our government and how easily we are easily misled by those with a vested interest in the status quo.

If WTS don’t get off our lazy butts and take back control of our government, we have only ourselves to blame. Despite what Jim and Dave think of those in power, they are doing exactly what most of us would do if we were in the same position. It is simply human nature.

Think about it – then flail me as you see fit.

Troy L Robinson

Note that I have started a fresh thread for this topic since we are evidently going to continue debating what I consider a frivolous topic. But I must do something to attempt to keep my aging brain alive and this is as good as any I suppose.

Let me begin by illustrating what I consider one fatal flaw in Jim/Bill’s reasoning using a direct quote from the essay (emphasis added by me):

Imagine for a moment that as ordinary citizens were watching the evening news, they see an act by a government employee or officeholder that they feel violates their rights, abuses the public’s trust, or misuses the powers that they feel should be limited…

First, if “they” are watching the evening news, there is an almost certain probability that “they” are being misled to some extent.

Second, feeling is the result of an emotional reaction, not a deliberate intellectual review of the facts, including attempts to verify said facts from multiple sources.

This hardly constitutes the basis of a death sentence.

Now, focus on this very moment in time – a number of Americans who watch the evening news, feel that President Trump is separating Hispanic children from their (possible) parents, presumably because hes does not like children/Hispanics/people in general, and is keeping them in dog kennel like cages. Never mind that the supporting photos of children in kennels were taken during the Obama administration.

Would it not then follow that, given your AP proposal, Trump along with a number of Border Patrol personnel should be assassinated? What other conclusion could one arrive at? Yet, those who bother to examine the situation intellectually realize that Trump is merely enforcing laws duly passed by Congress and also enforced by previous administrations. Yes, perhaps Trump has added a degree of added vigor to the enforcement in an attempt to get the Congress off their collective butts and do something for a change.

IMHO, in the situation under consideration, it is the Congress that richly deserves every bit of the blame for a sorry situation that has persisted for years – yet feelings prompted by distortions on the evening news lead to quite a different conclusion.

You go on to talk about the utility of killing various despots, past and present, rather than engage in war with the nations they seem to control. Do you really believe that a few evil people can control a nation of millions without some level of consent from those millions, even though that consent may be passive or fear driven? If the only way to escape the yoke of a tyrant is by assassinating said tyrant, then, by definition, the United States could never have happened. But it did happen. And the Constitutional system of government bequeathed to us by our founders transformed a rag-tag collection of ex-colonies into the most free, most prosperous and most powerful nation in human history in the historic blink of an eye. Why not simply revert to the system they gave us before we became too spoiled to maintain it?

Can you not see why such your AP proposal alarms me​?

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

It should be quite clear to anyone paying any attention that the massive protests over everything Trump related get ever closer to outright violence. I lived through the Vietnam War protests and clearly remember students being shot by folks in uniform before the then president shirked his duty and surrendered.

Even though the shots are not ringing out (yet), this seems to me a far more polarized situation than we have experienced since our first Civil War.

One factor that the protesting progressives seem to have overlooked (despite the growing evidence) is that we clod-heads in “flyover country” are heavily armed and, usually, well skilled in the use of said arms. Do these coastal fools really think they can unseat a duly elected president and complete the destruction of our Republic without serious resistance?

Not going to happen. Will there be a “winner” in the coming conflict? I can’t see how there could be. As soon as serious blood begins to flow, our enemies will be picking over our dead and wounded bodies worse than the Arabs during the WWII campaigns in North Africa.

Then there is the matter of what our military will do once it hits the fan. My suspicion is that divisions of opinion within the military will mirror those of the nation in general. No idea how that will play out.

Point is, I truly think we are heading into a situation that will produce only losses – losses that could be easily avoided by talking rather than screaming at each other. That said, the intentional destruction of our national education system is surely about to pay the predictable dividends.

The fact that this is taking a bit longer to materialize than I predicted in earlier articles does not change the reality I think I see all around me. The other thing that I see is that the “good people” for the most part are silently hunkering down hoping the whole thing will simply go away. As it such problems ever do.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

While I still support much of the libertarian agenda, such as decriminalization of drugs, I quit the national party over the issue of open borders. Several thoughts come to mind:

First, we know where and what constitutes a nation because of its borders. For instance, were we to simply erase the current border between the USA and Canada, how would one know which nation one was in? Of of the few ways that I can think of is which currency the local merchants accept. Those of you thinking we could at least tell Quebec because of the language have obviously never spent time in rural Louisiana. The point is that both the USA and Canada would soon lose their national identities and would tend to merge into some sort of blob.

My conclusion: no obvious borders equals no real nation. So, if you like the notion of nationhood, you must also like the notion of borders. Of course, the “one world” folks might find this idea just fine, assuming they had the mental acuity to have real ideas in the first place.

Second comes the monetary aspect of things. Many, the Libertarians among them, say, OK, have borders for national identification but leave them open so that folks can come and go as they please.

Unfortunately, the USA has become a “welfare state”. Does it not naturally follow that a welfare state with open borders will soon find itself trying to support the poor and the worthless of all nations with the ability to get their losers shipped here? I know the progressives like to give handouts on the theory of unlimited resources – but – anyone able to think knows that such ideas are at odds with the basic laws that govern our universe. Besides, aren’t those same progressives the ones who keep telling us we are running out of key resources like oil, gas, clean water, etc.? Come on folks, you can’t really have it both ways.

My conclusion: open borders in a welfare state is a recipe for disaster. After all, doesn’t our current – un-payable – national debt suggest that we are already well on the road to the disaster in question?

Why the reason for this rant? A recent article in Reason magazine suggesting the disbandment of ICE along with their consistent open borders perspective. BTW, when my current subscription to Reason runs out, I will not subscribe again. A recent change in chief editors, among other factors, has turned a once fine magazine into just another Trump-bashing, progressive piece of garbage. Indeed, I toss most of them in the trash without reading them, especially when the cover page has anti-Trump bias all over it.

So I am now officially independent and losing interest daily.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

Since the Russia collusion farce seems to be exploding in the progressives’ faces, they have to come up with a new Trump crime. This time it concerns the separation of adults and minors entering the country illegally. Translated: the coyotes have figured out a way to game the system by bringing in “families” who may or may not be related in some way other than the crime they are committing by crossing the border illegally.

Predictably, the progressives and their media stooges are crying crocodile tears over these poor “innocent” babies, even showing some of them crying in cages (via a photo from the Obamanation administration at which time such was, presumably, quite OK.

In the last few days, I have seen/heard several attempts to explain things rationally – by Trump, Sarah Saunders, Kirstjen Neilsen (DHS Secretary) and others. All to no avail.

What bothers me most about this is that none of them seem able to bring up the obvious… can you imagine how many American children are separated from their parent (usually single parent) every week because of minor violations of drug laws which IMHO should not even exist? Do these children have fewer rights than children who are, in fact, part of the commission of a REAL crime? Nope, they don’t matter (at least at present). Why? Is it because most of them are black and/or poor? Not at all. It is simply that they lack political value.

I will repeat again my friends, a once great nation is being destroyed by self-serving traitor elites while most of us sit idle and watch. These people are committing crimes against humanity for which execution is the only just remedy. Please let it begin. Although I love our Constitution and once wore a uniform and vowed to die protecting it if necessary – I am almost willing for Trump to assume dictatorial powers if that is what it takes to drain the swamp. On that subject, if you don’t watch Steve Hilton’s show on Sunday evening on FOX News, then you are missing some of the best insight into our mess than I have ever seen.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

How can one resist the urge to join the Roseanne fracas? Not me!

My first observation is that she did indeed lose her mind if only temporarily. There is simply no way such a comment in a public space could go ignored. However much she may have wished it was funny, it simply came off as cruel and racist.

My second observation is that if the comment had been to the extent that the combination of a Scotswoman and an ape = DJT, it would have been thought hilarious. Such a double standard we live under these sad days.

My third observation, and one that includes a recent Trump controversy, is that humans are, in fact, apes. Indeed, we are considered to be the apex ape. Ergo, the idea of mating with an ape is not necessarily and insulting one. As a side observation, it is also true that humans are animals (perhaps Pelosi thinks we are vegetables but there is no science to support this!) Ergo, calling a human an animal is nothing more or less than a statement of fact. Trump would have been better to include the word “viscous” in his comment.

Please note that none of the observations above are intended to defend or justify a stupid attempt at humor that went way off the track. Nor are they meant to defend the viscous animals in any street gang. Instead it is a sort of suggestion that we all take a chill pill. These constant attempts to destroy each other will surely eventually succeed in destroying us all.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

If so, all you need to do is watch the movie Chappaquiddick. I always suspected that the whole Kennedy clan was rotten to the core but this, even with attempts to clean it up, was revolting in every way. (Would you believe my Mother was a Kennedy? Best I can tell, from the Scottish branch, not the Irish. Be thankful for small things.)

Then there is the ongoing farce with Facebook. Just read on Drudge that Zuckerberg will not be placed under oath and that his company is a large contributor to the committees that will be questioning him. Hillary all over again.

Then there is the Donald. It seems the hounds very nearly have him at bay. What should he do in response? I’m sure he is guilty of something – our legal code has become so convoluted that each and every one of us commits several felonies per week, without even knowing it. I have a radical suggestion for Donald. Declare himself dictator, hang as many of the traitors as he can round up, then start the country from scratch again.

I know this is an odd suggestion coming from one who reveres the Constitution as I do but – every indication I can judge suggests we are already on our way to dictatorship and, fool that I may be, I prefer it be Trump rather than a Clinton or a Kennedy.

Gag!

Troy L Robinson

OK Dave – have at me.

The Austin area having been my past home for many years – and the current home of a daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons, one can easily understand my interest in the recent bombings there.

My first observation is that this moron of a perpetrator was home-schooled and raised to be a religious fanatic. Why then is anyone surprised when he behaves like a typical religious fanatic?

Note further than no single religious movement has a monopoly on fanaticism – all of them are subject to it. I guess it just comes with the territory – you learn to believe the impossible then suddenly everything SEEMS possible, however perverted it really is.

My second observation is that the moron did illustrate a very good point, assuming anyone in power was paying attention. That point is that gun control is a joke and has always been a joke. What do the powers that be propose now? Shut down Home Depot and outlaw the sale of nails? At what point does the nonsense in this approach shine through?

I have a better idea. How about we fix our school system so that it actually teaches things worth knowing – like, how to coexist in a peaceful world and how to process information such that they are much less likely to be taken in by fanaticism. Then, how about we return to that obsolete notion of holding people responsible for their own actions, starting when they are small children.

My final observation is that we should all grow up a bit. It is a known fact that freedom is NOT free. Indeed, it has many costs and one of those is that a few people will misuse their freedom to do harm to others. Yes, we can punish them after the fact if we so choose but there is little we can do before the fact (or before the act if you prefer). Trending toward a police state is simply not a valid answer – although, those who are greedy for power will try to convince the rest of us that it is.

Honestly, do fewer people get harmed in a police state? Or it is just the source of the harm that is different? (Deranged dictators rather than deranged citizens.)

We tolerate tens of thousands of dead an maimed each year in order to have the freedom to drive our own vehicles. We sacrifice who knows how many to the great god known as junk food. We lose who knows how many for the privilege of altering our minds with alcohol, nicotine and other drugs. Why then do we get so excited when the source of harm goes BOOM as we are killed?

Grow up America.

Troy L Robinson

The old mantra was “see something, say something.”

After the Broward massacre, the new mantra evidently is “see something, say something, be ignored”.

Seems that even the FBI (Federal Bureau of Incompetence) was warned about this kook Cruz still no one did anything. That is, until the kook did something.

Of course, guns are the problem just like automobiles are the reason for the carnage on our highways. So, no cars, no car wrecks – no guns, no shooting. Seems simple enough but what about knives, bombs or just plain tree limbs?

Just to muddy the waters a bit with some abnormal thinking —— might it be that the tools are almost beside the point and the real issue is why so many among us, especially the young, want to kill indiscriminately. Might this not indicate a very severe problem in modern culture that we conveniently ignore? Might we be building a brave new world that is virtually without values or self-responsibility? Has actual life been reduced to some ultra-real game, little different from a virtual game except the blood actually stains your clothes?

Folks, it is way past time to rise up and discard this ridiculous fiasco that passes itself off for government at all levels. In fact, they are just giant manipulation machines meant to herd us about while having us produce for their benefit. So there is a massacre now and then – in the final analysis, don’t these serve only to give the manipulators more power over us? Yes, the word for public consumption is that these “heroes” are going to make whatever it is better but, when have they ever?

As some pundit said while reporting from Broward yesterday, “this is the new normal, get used to it” to which I reply, “there is nothing normal about this and I am damned if I will get used to it”.

Think about it,

Troy L Robinson

I have long been disturbed by a growing problem in our Republic that I am yet unable to describe clearly. Despite this, I will try:

A growing number of progressives, aided and abetted by the lame-stream-media, are now openly admitting that they are trying every trick in the book to unseat a duly elected President who, despite an ongoing farce of a special counsel, has no evidence against him of any manner of impeachable offense. Indeed, this President (whom I did not support and did not vote for) seems to be doing a reasonable job of “making America great again”. For sure, I could use more swamp draining and less half-cocked tweeting but, I guess you take the best you can get in lieu of the impossibility of perfection. At least the economy is growing, ISIS is shrinking and the rest of the world is beginning to take us seriously again.

To my tired old brain, what is going on looks like nothing less than a concerted attempt to bring down a duly constituted government. My quandary is that I am unable to interpret this as anything less than a form of high treason. For sure, our Constitution prohibits the overthrow of our government “by violence” and one might argue that the progressive traitors, with the possible exception of Antifa, have not yet resorted to outright violence. Or have they? An age old adage holds that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Since we all recognize the sword as a potential instrument of violence, does this old adage not suggest that the pen (read the “media”) is an even more potentially violent instrument? Current events sure indicate to me that it can.

The real gnawing question then is this… why are the majority of Americans, who are most surely NOT progressive traitors, willing to sit quietly by (well – except for Tucker Carlson) and let these traitors do as they wish to destroy our Republic? Arms sales have been at all time highs for several years now so it is not as if we are not armed. What is it then that we lack? Could it be as simple as the lack of some credible voice to tell us that (to paraphrase Dave), it is time to start shooting the bastards?

As much as I abhor the notion of another civil war, that is much better than a quiet surrender. Are American patriots of the 21st century fated to be like the Jews of Europe in the 1930’s, apparently willing to be herded then slaughtered like so many sheep?

If we allow this President to forced from office, ultimately to be replaced by another traitor like the Obamanation (yes, he repeatedly and openly gave aid and comfort to radical Islamists, a declared enemy of this Republic), then it is all over but the rounding up, etc.

I am currently reading (and enjoying) Brian Kilmeade’s book Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans. What a different people we were then! And could be again with so little effort.

Wake up America and do your duty to your Constitution and your Republic!

Troy L Robinson

Since the Trump announcement, it is official – we are in an opioid crisis.

Thank you very much Mr Trump but I have my own personal opioid crisis – like what if I run out, or, what if I can no longer get it.

The lame-stream-media assures us that there are many unnecessary deaths each year because of easy access to opioids. I sure wish I knew where these easy access points are because I have to jump through hoops to get mine. Oh yes, I am an abuser. On average, I take 2 oxycodone pills each day. Why? Without them (or something stronger), I would kill myself to stop the chronic pain. Do they make me “high”? No. They make me itch if I take too many. In fact, I have yet to meet anyone who takes these things who feels euphoric as a result. Instead, they only feel a bit less pain for a few hours.

I hear that some 9 million oxycdone pills have been shipped to a town of 400 in West Virginia. I agree that this seems odd at the least. So, why don’t the authorities descend on small town WV and leave me the hell alone? And, if some stupid know-nothing kids want to use them as a means of suicide, my only reaction is that I hope they do it before they reproduce. Why is any large scale method of suicide a “crisis” in a world that has several billion more humans than it needs. Sounds more like a solution to me.

But then, maybe my “addiction” has made me mean. Isn’t that what these chemicals do – make us into something worse than we are without them? I don’t really think so. I think there are inherent losers in every society who will find a path to self destruction and government’s only legitimate role is to try to prevent them harming others on their way to the oblivion they seek. If opioids furnish a relatively painless path to oblivion for the losers and some temporary relief for us old arthritis sufferers, I say, “bring ’em on”.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

So, some nut case in Las Vegas collects an arsenal in his hotel room then uses said arsenal to kill and wound hundreds of people.

And, we-the-sheeple demand to know why.

Well, there are the usual suspects… the NRA, the 2nd Amendment, the GOP, Donald Trump, etc.

I beg to offer another very different point of view.

For years, the progressive movement in the USA has repeated the mantra that nobody is personally responsible for the outcome of their life. It is all the fault of THEM.

From all accounts, the Las Vegas nut was distraught over his massive gambling losses. (Can one assume that the NRA, the 2nd Amendment, etc. forced this nut to gamble and lose a fortune? Of course not.) But, according to the progressive mantra, the gambler himself could not have been responsible. Nope, it was all due to THEM.

So, our nut case does the only logical thing… he kills and wounds as many of THEM as he possibly can.

In a sick way, doesn’t this actually make some sense? THEY cause these awful things to happen to you so you strike back against THEM as best you know how.

That should teach THEM!

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

It is bad enough that the functionally illiterate lame-stream-media folk are helping to destroy our culture. Now, they seem to be leading the charge to destroy our language as well.

Every time I turn on the idiot box, I hear that NFL players are “taking a knee” during the playing of our anthem. What knee are they taking and where is it being taken to? Oh yes, it turns out that said players are actually “kneeling”, perhaps even “genuflecting”. Why not just say that?

Then, a few weeks ago I heard repeated reports that people close to Trump had “taken meetings” with various Russians. Where did they take these meeting to? Well, it turn out that they were actually “attending” meetings. Again, why not just say that?

Could it be that, during these “taken” meetings they were also having dialogue with other participants? No, they were simply “talking” to each other and/or “having discussions”.

I have often heard that English is a complicated language… no doubt this is somewhat true since the language has picked up so many words and phrases from other languages over the years as it has emerged as the world’s preeminent language. So, why further complicate it by misusing words, using nouns for verbs and other such nonsense? Do the L-S-M folk think they are being cute or are they trying deliberately to make their crap harder to comprehend? Can you even imagine how much harder this is on people for whom English is not their first language?

To paraphrase a late master of the language, Winston Churchill, “with this, I am finding it hard to put up”.

Of all people, should not those who charge themselves with informing the rest of us not work hard to be correct and precise? Or is this just another bit of evidence that everything that was once great about us is headed to hell in a hand-basket.

Put another way, would we be impressed if surgeons, engineers and scientists deliberately pursued their respective crafts with such sloppiness?

Think about it because it actually does matter.

Troy L Robinson

How long has the war between western culture and Islam been going on? In round numbers, 1,000 years. Our own modern, active participation has been going on for over 20 years.

Are we winning?

The answer is a simple NO.

Why aren’t we winning?

Could it be that we either don’t know or refuse to admit who/what we are fighting?

I think so. If this is true, or even somewhat true, would this not be a good time to refocus and try one or more new approaches? If so, what keeps us from doing so?

First is a mistaken understanding of our own Constitution. Said Constitution does state that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion”. However, it does not say “Congress shall make no law protecting said Constitution (and the Republic it established) from destruction by group or system of thought that clearly states its intention to do just that”. Such a Constitutional clause/statement would be paramount to insanity. Yet, there are those among us who try to pretend that it says just that – and, to convince the rest of us, particularly those among us whose brains are still in the plastic state. So, are we insane? To a frightening degree, yes.

Second is a “hate America and everything it once stood for” group, embedded among us, that will support any cause, no matter how insane, so long as it promises to damage or destroy western culture. To this end, we now have a near majority of citizens who think that somehow the statue of a Civil War leader or Founding Father is a symbol of white supremacy or neo-Nazism. Can anyone truly believe that the pen that wrote “all men are created equal” really belonged to a man who did not think that Negros were human? Even though he lived much of his life with one of them playing the role of spouse? Yes, Jefferson owned slaves. Yes, he knew it was wrong. He understood it to be one of those wrongs that have no really good way to make right (“But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.”) Can anyone truly believe that George Washington was an early Nazi? Such is absurd. Yet, there are serious discussions about tearing down the Washington DC and Mount Rushmore monuments to these two people (among others).

But I diverge. My topic is about another approach to our war with “radical Islam”. Here I offer a suggestion that, IMHO, would alter the existing “war” instantly and in our favor… Our government (the President) should simply (and publicly) announce that, lacking any REAL evidence that there is a form of Islam that does not support (at least with its silence) the actions of the supposedly “radical” form, we (the USA) will consider ourselves to be at war with Islam and will act accordingly until such time that evidence of meaningful disapproval of the acts of the “radicals” by this supposedly “other” branch of Islam.

That is to say, we will outlaw the practice of Islam within our own borders and will cease to give aid, comfort and weapons to any nation/state that supports Islam. Further, we will respond with every weapon at our disposal to every nation/state that harbors and/or supports terrorism in any form or fashion.

Our next move should be to discover why so many American Jews seem to support a movement (Islam) that is vowed to destroy all Jews. Something about this simply has never smelled right to me.

Would the “left” have a cow over such a declaration? Of course. But, they are already trying to destroy the Republic as we know it so who really cares how many cows they have.

Am I a bigot? No, I think I am simply realistic.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

I know we are supposed to be transitioning this blog from politics to religion and philosophy – yet I can’t stay quiet about the (in my view) approaching civil war.

Donald Trump’s overall reaction to the insanity in Charlottesville, VA (not NC as much of the lame-brained media seem to think) – his position that it took TWO sides to cause such trouble is right on. And he is catching hell for saying it.

There is no place in our society for neo-Nazis and we can all easily agree to that. But there was more to the protest in Charlottesville.

In the first place, there is nothing overtly racial or bigoted in the continuing Southern reverence for Robert E Lee. Indeed, his bearing and his conduct of the war was about all Southerners we had left to be proud of once the shooting had stopped and the looting began. And most present Americans understand to little about those days that I, for one, do not grant them the right to an opinion. In other words, learn about the thing you would pontificate on and THEN we can have a discussion.

A couple of simple thoughts to ponder:

First, Robert E Lee was at worst ambivalent about slavery (some say he outright opposed it, others that he simply knew it was untenable). For sure, his family (of whom he was titular head) used their own wealth to free slaves and relocate them to Liberia.

Second, while estimates vary, the net estimate is that no more than 20% of white Southerners owned slaves at the outbreak of the Civil War. If we assume that the makeup of the Confederate military pretty much reflected that of the South as a whole, then one has a quandary to deal with. It is somewhat easy to insist that the 20% were willing to fight to retain their primary source of wealth. Bit what of that other 80%? Do you suppose that they were gladly willing to die for the fortunes of a pseudo aristocracy? Somehow that does not ring true to one such as myself who grew up under the remnants of said pseudo aristocracy. Ergo, they must have been fighting for something far more personally important to themselves.

Let us diverge for a moment and think about the legalized abortion issue that plagues today’s politics. A clear majority of females, especially the younger ones, will fight like hell to preserve access to legal abortions. Yet, relatively few of them actually get abortions, even when an unplanned for family addition suddenly presents itself, mid-womb. Does this not raise the same question as the one above regarding the non-slaveholders willingness to fight and die? I contend that the same reasoning is at work. In both cases, the people involved simply do not want to surrender their right to make up their own minds about certain issues rather than be dictated to by others who have far less at stake in the issue.

I close with a warning to this nation: Years ago, the author John Donne postulated that “no man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent. A part of the main…” We Americans have so very little time left to understand our interdependence, ergo to respect our fellow humans as essential to our own survival. And then, to treat each other accordingly.

Were Trump WRONG about Charlottesville, the so-called riot there would have been no more than the sound of one hand clapping.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

Why is it so quiet here? It can’t be because there is nothing going on. After all, there is a Russian hacker under every bed (You do have one, don’t you? I’m sure I have several but they are so quiet I don’t notice them.)

Meanwhile, the establishment refuses to give up a single iota of its power (and they say there is no bipartisanship in Washington!)

I sense there are more people than ever ready and willing to fight back but we somehow lack organization. Trump has turned out better than I dared imagine but he is NOT a leader. Despite his often ill-advised “tweets” on whatever riles him at the moment, he does not try to engage the people in any form of resistance. For sure, he tweets about the evil media and the like but always from a personal point of view rather than their obvious determination to harm the nation and its principles – Trump simply being an easy target for the larger objective.

Are there no potential leaders out there in the wings? Please don’t suggest Ivanka and Chelsea or I will surely find a way to digitally vomit on you.

Better yet, where is Dave? (Hello Dave – are you there? I’m sorry I criticized your stance on anarchism. Please come back.)

Please, somebody say something sane. I feel like I am in solitary confinement. Plus, misogynist or not, I miss Bill O’Reilly on Fox. Tucker Carlson just argues for the sake of arguing with little logic to back up whatever he is trying to say (usually, it is not clear to me and I am not sure it is clear to him either). On a recent episode, he seemed to be arguing with a fellow who was trying to agree with him.

Have we all simply given up?

Don’t even think it.

Troy L Robinson