BIRTH-CONTROL..IN AMERICA

 Dear George,

After you became President Mr. Washington - I understand the War of Independence left the original 13 Colonies in a somewhat wobbly social condition., but oh George - nothing in your wildest dreams would prepare you for how human-reproduction in the Republic you struggled to form has evolved since...

After the Roe vs Wade ruling [1973] prior to every election cycle as predictable as bird migration specific segments of voters take to the streets - then we're back to ABORTION...

But in 2022, we're seeing thousands of women marching in the streets again because according to social-allegations a clerk in the Supreme Court office of Justice Sotomayor has leaked a draft copy of how the majority of the court [heavily weighted on the conservative side] may rule in June on a contentious Mississippi abortion legislation case.  

I feel rather qualified to "enter-the-Lion's-Den" on this storm. Like the Pilgrams who landed on Plymouth Rock as some of the 'first' to colonize in the launch years of America - I was in junior high school when the launch of this controversy exploded [literally] as I reached puberty then carried into my early adulthood. [*Unlike America, the rest of the globe [that uses the metric system and prints difficult to counterfeit currency] has moved on.]

As a young adult two major contradictions swirled around abortion covered by an emerging TV media that scrambled to keep up with each day's baffling event.  At 13 I remember watching the 6o'clock news in horror as people picketed with signs printed with [among other expressions] RESPECT  LIFE also using those signs as clubs to attack clinic staff.  Frenzy 'against' abortion was so intense people either participated in -or- cheered when clinics were fire bombed ending the 'lives' of nurses, doctors and staff inside. The flipside to the 60s abortion madness was a subgroup [organized by mostly churches] of people who opposed an emerging medical solution to abortion---the PILL. Since new medical research offered a pregnancy prevention alternative, one would expect that to be embraced...Nope. 

Since the use of contraception was common from the time of the Minoans, Ancient Greeks and Egyptians and Earth's population is careening toward the 8Billion mark by 2025 - why do staunch conservatives and religions decry both abortion -and- birth control? 

Caught in the middle of this big cultural-religious-ethical quandary [as usual] sits the vast majority of citizens. Millions of couples and women and men...but mostly women [because typically the male of our species is not like the seahorse] felt damned either way. Women in the 60s and the 70s who opted for the pill and freedom from the worry of an unwanted pregnancy were considered immoral - another contradiction - another social double standard. [Have we moved on from that?]  

However, in 2022 why is a woman's choice only between abortion or carrying an unplanned pregnancy to term? Why isn't our [third] choice to seek as much information as possible about 'avoiding' a pregnancy dilemma in the first place?  

*The estimated total cost to raise one [healthy] child from birth to age 18 is between $200,000 to $250,000.

*Average cost of birth control for 18 years [using the patch] is about $10,800.  

*If you're certain you do not want any children at all -or- you have reached your 2 to 3 child limit then a tubal ligation [with or without insurance] is between $1,600 to $7,000.

Our federal government does support reproductive health [Planned Parenthood gets most of the press] and has mandated insurance companies [including Medicaid] to cover all forms of contraceptives making many co-pays $0 to $50 depending on the women's birth control selection...Insurance carriers eagerly embraced this directive because even an uncomplicated pregnancy with a vaginal delivery can cost an average of $2,000 for nine months of prenatal care then delivery [nursing, doctor, medication] and hospital stay $4,000 to $37,000...[Triple that for complications or C-Section deliveries.]  

·         Depo-Provera – around $30 to $75

·         Implantable Rod – around $400 to $800

·         Patch (Evra patch) – around $15 to $50

·         Intrauterine Device (IUD) – around $500 to $1,000

·         Vaginal ring – around $15 to $80

Schoolboards and teachers' unions across the country are pushing for classroom discussions on gay, lesbian and transgender issues targeting children still learning to color inside the lines - but not pushing for middle school classroom information on BIRTH-CONTROL or the true emotional impact of what a teen pregnancy can mean...Obviously we're 'not' having those discussions, because if we were then we wouldn't be presented with 'only' a Pro-Choice or Right-To-Life conflict. 

Fortunately, there are dozens of community programs for teen parents who select to keep their baby to raise. Teen moms can finish school then get housing, food and further training assistance if neither her family nor the teen father's family can step in with financial support.

The alternate direction for an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy brought to term is ADOPTION private or foster care. Pregnant women [of all ages] can surrender their newborn via an arranged adoption handled by a law firm [at no cost to them] or in the hospital or anonymously at designated community firehalls. Private adoptions are immediate. Children who are State Wards in foster care typically wait one to two years to be adopted, most wait five years for a permanent home. 

Both abortion [medical or surgical] and a full-term pregnancy carry health risks short and long term especially for girls under the age of 15 and women with underlying heath issues like weight, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc... So let's have some logical dialogue about contraception and NOT include women of color or the disadvantaged because everyone can access county, state and federal support programs.

And while we're discussing CHOICE...Perhaps abortion is 'not' specifically written into our Constitution - but the FREEDOM of CHOICE 'IS'...So--maybe the U.S. Supreme Court could remember 'that' when they pen their final RULING -and- follow in the footsteps of former Justices like Sandra Day O'Connor...

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery-suspense novelist and former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC 

*Life in small town Montana is not as quiet 

as you might think.

DECEPTION IN AMERICA

 

Dear George,

When you became President, Mr. Washington - were you typically upfront and transparent or did you use detractions and misdirection to accomplish an objective [that might not have been popular or even fair] with most citizens of the new nation? 

       *Side Note: I'm recovering from Covid myself  [OmnicromBA2] and of scientific research interest as well because like Tom Brokaw I too have Multiple Myeloma. Which-'Fellow-Travelers' brings me to my first point of discussion. 

PANDEMIC: Covid by any other [variant] name has been/is a flagrant abuse of taxpayer funds and deliberate infringement to every citizen's personal liberty. It has also exposed just how inept management at the CDC [Center for Disease Control & Prevention] and National Institute of Health truly are...[See Jan 9 2021 Blog "Health-Care In America"]  With that-for all we know the high [reported] Covid death rate could be attributed to a major CDC failing to address chronic HAI [Hospital Acquired Infections].  People admitted to a hospital are susceptible to a colonized infection [perhaps, from a poorly sanitized ventilator?] Even prior to Covid, 1 in 25 hospitalized Americans actually died as a result of Hospital Acquired Infections.

INFLATION: The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank - established in 1913 is owned 57% by the Rochchild family of London in partnership with the U.S.  Rockefeller and Morgan families. [Only 3 countries in the world are without a Rothchild-owned bank; Cuba, North Korea and Iran.] The American based Reserve Bank has absolutely nothing in their "tool-box" to address U.S. across the board 11% increase in goods and services - because - this round of runaway inflation has not been due to a typical supply and demand cycle - it's been artificially caused. 

1. Caused by a swift rise in Federal and State Minimum Wage...Let's look at that. Everyone deserves a fair living wage, but what is a fair living wage? Typically, the cost of living is housing, food, transportation and clothing factored as basics. Then - if the wage of a 40-hour work week [after taxes] can't support those basics the employee's options are  a] pick up more hours, b] seek a promotion, c] find a better paying job, d] develop other skills/return to school...BUT the vast majority of any minimum wage job was originally intended for 'temporary' workers like high school and college students . Except for low and mid level management ALL fast-foot, general construction, unskilled labor or part time entry jobs were 'never' intended as sole support for anyone. Those temporary workers were typically under age 21 and still living at home then after graduation from an apprenticeship or college they quit and moved on at which point a new 'crop' of students filled open places while they finished school.

2. Caused by a sudden reduction of oil and gas production...Let's look at that. One of the several dozen Executive Orders Biden reversed only a few hours after his inauguration was the XL Keystone Pipeline. He recently quipped when asked about that in light of rising fuel shortages that; Keystone wasn't relevant because it was 2years out when he took office. True, but it was 2years out--14 months ago! If that project had been left in place production would by now be completed this fall. Keystone aside - as the days and weeks following Biden's inauguration came and went that pipeline wasn't the only transport system of fossil fuel interrupted. There are/were 210 already well established and safely functioning pipeline networks across the United States that also connected to systems in Mexico and Canada. For decades pipelines have been a proven means of providing fuel and heat safely from the oil rigs to refineries to homes and vehicles. And - the 6,000 various petroleum products needed [daily] for transportation of goods and people, the military, road building and maintenance, food packaging and medical equipment and supplies--have all been cost-hijacked because of an arbitrary [Green] cutback in petroleum production....

CLIMATE: Sooo - if each and every one of those concerned environmentalists pushing for a complete block of all future oil and gas exploration and development have stopped using plastic water bottles and disposable diapers and are walking to work or riding a bicycle to the grocery store they have my attention. However-they still aren't approaching even a basic 'transition' plan away from fossil fuels. In fact the pseudo-environment-protectors are [actually] responsible for exchanging one issue for another. The surface and undersea mining of rare-earth minerals for batteries and other techno electric vehicle parts are creating surface scaring and ocean dead-zones. Damaged and replaced wind turbine blades along with damaged, expired and replaced solar panel parts have created an even greater, extended landfill problem.  [See Oct 13 2021 Blog "Green And Clean In America"]  

IMMIGRATION: During the 2020 Election Campaign after it was made clear that work on the southern boarder wall would be halted - those seeking to expand their drug pushing, people smuggling, money laundering - enterprises into the United States saw that declaration as an invitation.  Our Border Guards saw it as a national nightmare. [Personally--if we doubled the salaries of all our border patrol officers, we still couldn't begin to compensate them for the high-stress, dangerous work they do.] 

Decisions coming from this 46th Administration and this 117th Congress are not even remotely astute politically...Will the millions of illegals crossing the southern border gratefully vote Democrat in all future elections -because- they will magically appear on voting lists, which is why so many Dems object to photo ID and proof of citizenship? [Do drug dealers and human traffickers vote?]  Or - will the millions of unskilled, marginally educated illegals become disillusioned because they get stuck with less than minimum wage jobs that too many college educated [legal] citizens won't do? [Perhaps Arizona Governor Dusey will join Texas Governor Abbot adding even more busses of illegals destined to Pennsylvania Avenue - since too many in public office make too many arbitrary decisions with no idea of any Dominio effect.]  

N.A.T.O.:  Just as Covid exposed the ineptitude of healthcare management in America - the Russian invasion of the sovereign Nation of Ukraine has exposed just how irredeemable the United Nations is and the weakness of NATO.  Oh, NATO Members have hurried to 'look' like they're united, but mostly they're in 'butt-covering-mode'. Each nation scrambling to protect their own interests with zip regard for the millions of Ukrainian citizens caught between a government struggling to emerge as a functioning democracy [much like Poland 30 years ago] and a Russian leadership struggling to remain relevant. What IS the rest of the world doing in this 21st Century to truly address Russia and Ukraine? Mostly just watching - which has exposed something else...We now witness weak, ineffective leadership in western countries globally - and don't think each of the decisive dictators in the rest of the world aren't paying attention. Because they are the very event inept western leadership are trying to avoid could become exactly that event.

PRESS/MEDIA:  Journalists with CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS-News Hour-Frontline  have all been exposed via Trump's time in office and Covid for their single-minded, open favoritism and/or their State-Influence bias... Journalism was 'once' a nobble profession, one I was once proud to claim as my writing launch pad...Now, not so much. [See Jan 15 2021 Blog "Journalism In America"] 

2020-US-MIDTERMS: We have "Truth In Advertising Laws", but it's not followed by election campaign ad producers -or- people running for public office - either before, during or after an election... Misdirection, "...the action or process of directing someone toward the wrong place or wrong view...". This is a common tactic in every performance by magicians and illusionists, but it has no place in public office and should 'not' be common practice for those seeking public leadership positions. 

Democratic leadership requires a high level of trust. Voters [who are in fact peers] offer to share their collective power in exchange for the management and coordination of all the moving parts with city, county, state and federal affairs. A 'trust' given to the people who were voted into public office - to follow through with integrity. To hold a duly elected public office is not a blank check for personal influence or enrichment - but domestically and globally it's clear that has reached a steep tipping point. 

Nancy Pelosi is quoted as stating emphatically that "...no one is above the law..." but Nancy only meant that for her version of what Trump was doing wrong, she didn't intend that meant her - or her circle...And instead of moving on to a balanced budget or much needed infrastructure or transportation/supply chain issues or enhanced education due to teacher's union influence -- Congress decriminalized marijuana! [Not even mentioned on the list of voter concerns.] The double standard between elected lawmakers and those expected to follow those laws applies to members of both parties and the gap is widening. 

RESPONSIBILITY:  In the movie "American President" there's a line at the heart of the entire plot. "To be President is entirely about character."  To which I would also add responsibility by those elected and those 'who' elect.  

In the 21st Century the vast majority of people truly do not need to be 'led'...We are better educated with access to more information than in any previous century. We can select a career and follow through or start a new business or fall in love and raise a family. The vast majority of people can self-govern; they don't steal from or vandalize businesses, they don't rob or hurt other people, they attempt to drive with prudence...What we simply need is competent executives to 'serve' with strong management skills. That's about it...

We don't need leadership who - 'defund-police' or make masks mandatory for preschoolers or ban the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2030 or create inflation and supply chain problems by slowing oil and gas production or encourage illegal immigration or supports surface and ocean mining of rare minerals or yields to unions that have depleted education standards and disrupted solid businesses - so they get reelected...

Somewhere in all of this is logical information that WE-THE-PEOPLE have not bothered to research for ourselves. Our responsibility is to know who we're electing then maintain supervision after they are elected and be more informed than those misdirecting us, so we can 'call' them on any slight-of-hand falsehood. 

Do we take back our responsibility for transparency control of this still evolving Republic, this unique democratic-experiment -or- do we let it dissolve...What do you want for your America this coming November 2022...

https://medium.com/@BraveNewFilms.org/heres-how-to-contact-all-535-members-of-united-states-congress-call-email-tweet-20b8a1c54195 

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery-suspense novelist & former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC 

'PALACE' INTRIGUE IN AMERICA

Dear George,

One of my favorite quotes Mr. Washington, via author and humorist Mark Twain is: "If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let you do it."

Once upon a time--and not that long ago there were people born into the working/middle-class who were certain the Universe had made a serious mistake and they should have been born into an aristocratic/upper-class...To correct this oversight they took matters into their own hands, became career politicians then ran for public office!

Through the early centuries of human history there were basically two social classes peasant and gentry. Prior to that [a giant economic block of people created by the Industrial Revolution -and- access to public education] the class we affectionately call the Middle Class was of minor consequence. So, from the 'beginning' with Adam and Eve to the 1800s - barristers, bookkeepers, doctors, engineers, teachers, commerce and clergy were a minor group in human social structure. However, after the French Revolution and the growth of peasant awareness -- social evolution took a swift turn. As kings and queens and aristocrats in general began to lose their [real and metaphorical] heads - from country to country, those who could already read from the ranks of that 'minor' group stepped up to assume several leadership roles. But without the acumen that balanced governance requires sudden authority created sudden swollen egos.

Mr. Washington, you were a reluctant leader/hero who chose two terms - voluntarily limiting the office of the new presidency to eight years. Maybe it was your age, and maybe you were tired, [leading with constant ethics is exhausting] but maybe you knew that too much authority for too long could be too addictive to those who followed blessed with more ambition than good sense... And beyond your 30 years of military service that led to the office of President you were happiest as a landowner/farmer, stridently shunning any further title of Emperor or King. 

Curious about the social distinction between royalty and commoner and how all that began - I went looking. 

To declare yourself a sovereign requires a simple recipe [of sorts] and it helps to be surrounded by many, many, many other people who are uneducated and superstitious. So, with thousands of uneducated and superstitious people, you convince them you are either ordained by or descended from a god - several is even more impressive. Next you either own or control lots and lots of land/territory/an empire/a kingdom - that all those uneducated, superstitious people work to produce crops and minerals. It's also important to have an army to repel possible invaders or to be able to invade others for more land and people...

There you have it - that's basically how you become a king/queen or emperor/empress starting somewhere around the Early Bronze Age in Mesopotamia - which is modern day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Title of Pharaoh came later with the Egyptians, but the recipe is the same.

Meanwhile...back in DC in this century several disturbing and delusional personalities have been struggling to somehow distinguish themselves from those they consider the 'great-unwashed'. They seek separation between where they govern - from - 'how' they got there. Because - in 2022 they are surrounded by many, many, many people who are educated and not superstitious and they 'owe' their present title of Congressman/woman or Senator or President, or Mayor or Governor or Schoolboard etc...to these many, many, many people also known as peers/voters/taxpayers.  

DONALD JOHN TRUMP [I/R] born Queens, New York City: father, Fred Trump a real estate developer whose parents were German immigrants--mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, homemaker whose parents immigrated from Scotland. Let's see--wealth, land, employees, connections--but not descended from or related to any gods so not royalty... 

WILLARD MITT ROMNEY [R/?] born Detroit, Michigan: father, George W. Romney an auto executive of English, Scottish and German ancestry--mother, Lenore LaFont a former actress turned homemaker of French and German ancestry. Let's see--money, homes, connections--but still not descended from any gods so 'not' royalty...

ADDISON MITCHELL MCCONNEL [R] born Sheffield, Alabama: father, Addison whose family had a funeral home was in the army and of Scots/Irish/English ancestry--mother, Julia Shockley was a homemaker. Though Mitch's ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War there's no connection to any gods and therefore not royalty...  

NANCY PATRICIA PELOSI [D] born Baltimore, Maryland: father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. an Italian immigrant from Genoa who served in Congress then as mayor of Baltimore--mother, Anunciata an Italian immigrant born in Fornelli, a homemaker also active in politics and social networking. Okay--money, homes, staff, connections--but still not descended from any gods, no royalty there either...

CHARLES ELLIS SCHUMER [D] born in Midwood, Brooklyn: father, Abraham who ran an exterminating business, Jewish ancestry from Chortkiv, Galicia, now western Ukraine--mother, Selma Rosen a homemaker. Here--diligent/frugal, home, staff, community--but alas also not related to or descended from any gods, not royalty...

JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN Jr [D] born Scranton, Pennsylvania: father, Joseph Sr. who became a successful used-car salesman, of English, French, and Irish ancestry--mother, Jean Finnegan a homemaker was of Irish descent. Here too--hardworking, middleclass, church and community--but no gods in sight, once again not royalty...

The CLINTONS [BILL & HILARY]   WILLIAM JEFFERSON BLYTHE III [D] born in Hope Arkansas: biological father, William Jr was a traveling salesman who died in an auto accident before his son's birth, descended primarily from Scots/Irish/German ancestry--mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy who became a nurse and later married Roger Clinton Sr. a gambler who co-owned a car dealership. At 15 WILLIAM formally adopted the Clinton surname. No gods in sight--so again no royalty...HILARY DIANE RODHAM [R/D] born Chicago, Illinois: father, Hugh managed a small successful textile business, of English and Welsh decent--mother, Dorothy Howell a homemaker of Dutch and French-Canadian ancestry--At first and second glance--hardworking, middle-class, home, employees, community connections, but no gods therefore not royalty...

***I picked on these people as examples of - what?  Why? 

Why indeed? Who on that list or any public office list has a heritage or ancestry or parentage any more deserving than any of ours? 

All of the above are examples of ambitious, driven people who sought public attention, through public channels using public connections to advantage - not so much to serve or enrich the whole. They demonstrated more in attitude of entitlement and arrogance than lasting contribution - unless we count decades of taxing waste and damage. Damage just as much in what was 'not' done as in what was...

I picked on these people because they continue to maintain media attention regardless of their actual relevance or guidance...They either cling to decades of elected office or seek a return to public office. This may sound harsh, but truly - help - or get out of the way!

I picked on these people to demonstrate that no matter how they 'spin' their present place - they're no higher in any ranking than the rest of us. Their position is temporary with authority that's borrowed [from voters]. They owe voters not the other way around. And anyone reading this [if you're still with me] needs to understand that no one in public office is ordained beyond that of ordinary mortal. 

Politicians garner respect 'only' if and when they 'earn' it. A title of mayor, governor, senator, congressman or president does not automatically come with respect - the office yes, but not necessarily the person holding that office. And, voters are not obligated to respect anyone appointed/elected to public office who in turn do not respect voters.

In 1947 Congress debated then passed the 22nd Amendment - Two Term Limitation On Presidency - Ratified in 1951...Essentially, debate was to: prevent the risk of presidential tyranny which justified the loss of presidential expertise and democratic choice, while counseling caution in assuming that term limits are essential to prevent presidential entrenchment, protecting against abuse... Question: why doesn't those same arguments against abuses of advantage - apply to our U.S. Congress? 

Responsibility yes, and ethics, and courage is the job of those elected to govern fairly and wisely on our behalf - not however, absolutely not, with any notion of superiority - none. No royalty here...

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery-suspense novelist & former journalist

www.patchworkpublishing.com 

  

WOMEN & MINORITIES IN AMERICA

 Dear George,

I realize Mr. Washington that in your-day except for the odd queen here and there in Europe and Africa or the Middle East--planet Earth was essentially a man's world. And, remaining securely in-charge of everything was the goal regardless of the fact that the global birthrate has always been split 51% female to 49% male...

Okay, so my high school biology was a few decades ago. However, besides my senior year segment on the human immune system [see 5/12/21 Blog: DIS-MIS-INFORMATION IN AMERICA],  I also noted 'that' particular biological percentage because I was curious about nature's math.

So, t-h-e-n 'fellow-travelers' imagine my surprise when upon moving from Alberta to Colorado [1990] I kept hearing journalists on news networks and corporate professionals and politicians speak ever so blithely using the expression "women and minorities"...  I was puzzled. Why were women included with cultural minorities? Women are neither a separate culture nor a minority. Since the definition of minorities is: ...the smaller number or part, especially a number that is less than half the whole number...Using that shouldn't it be; "men and minorities"? 

Naturally I was being facetious because men aren't a culture either. Females and males are a gender. [At least that used to be the 'science'.]

Anyway, statistics [and polls] seem to be the mainstay of journalists, corporations and politicians - but the 'circumstances' by which statistical and probability information is gathered has a huge effect on the outcome. I took only one [required] statistics course with my geology major, and it's not rocket-science, but I learned enough to realize it takes rocket-science to plough through the formulas some analysts use. When people in public office or the news media report for example that 68% of parents are 'for' the wearing of masks in school classrooms--they also need to tell us how many parents were contacted, and in which school district[s] in which county in which state...But the mean, median, mode and range are not reported on the 6PM news. Because those standard details are missing, the impression left with us is that 68% of parents [across the country] are in favor of masks in school classrooms--which is as you can see, 'not' accurate. 

Technically no one has lied, but is only 'some' information still a lie? Maybe it's not a lie, but this repetitive pattern maintains an artificial social division. Divide and conquer is a longstanding battle strategy, but it's also used domestically. 

Ideally, the simpler the premise for gathering and using data offers more accurate results, such as: what was the 2020 U.S. Census total?  From the basic census results of 331,449,281 [million] U.S. citizens, a horde of experts from dozens of disciplines will dissect this larger number into more finite graphs and records such as region - age - education - occupation - ethnic origins.

For the purpose of this Blog a simple breakdown of the 2020 U.S. Census was actually a surprise. Once again, when politicians and the national media only provide part of the information the masses need to get a balanced perspective - it creates mass ignorance. Because so much emphasis has focused toward African-American issues--I expected Americans of African descent would represent the second largest population group after Americans of European ancestry. But, they weren't, and they weren't even third in population size. The second highest group by population was Hispanic, the third group was citizens of Asian descent. Those of African descent were fourth, with Jewish and Middle Eastern fifth and our Native Americans sixth.  

We forget that many ethnic origins enriching the American salad of people come from 50 other countries. Everyone here is from somewhere else, but while we've all been enhanced by the variety of foods, art, music and inventions due to immigration, our ancestry ought to be a bygone. We absolutely should be aware of, and thankful for the efforts of ancestors who came before us - but not 'cling' so strongly to that past that we waste our present. Sadly, we continue to do just that and here's how...

Twenty years ago, at the turn of the 21st Century only 7% of the U.S. population listed their ancestry as American on the 2000 Census. [I couldn't find an updated number for 2010 or 2020.] But why isn't anyone 'born-here' or anyone who went to the effort of obtaining legal citizenship think of themselves as American? It's actually easier to govern citizenry who are homogenized, but only if 'harmony' is the goal of those in leadership. If not, then blending isn't possible - ever.  

Even after five generations in many families too many citizens of the United States remain divided by the sustained use of labels like Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Muslim-American, Jewish-American, African-American, Native-American, but not European-American. For some odd reason anyone from Europe is just referred to as whites...As someone of [mostly] European descent if I was continually reminded, via social programs or the media or politicians--to think of myself as say Norwegian-American, then I'd keep my connection to the homeland of my immigrant grandmother uppermost and unsettled. **Each week Professor, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. who hosts and produces the PBS program Finding Your Roots, enlightens people about their ancestry. But his production includes 'Roots' in the title for a reason - because it's where our DNA begins, not ultimately where it is today.   

Control and influence can be an intoxicating addiction. And, historically for the human species it's actually been mind-altering to the point that for thousands of years males in every culture assumed complete authority. And, bluntly looking at human history there's evidence that males made quite a mess from century to century and continent to continent and should have had more female input.  Over the span of some 400 years Britain spread itself all around the world--using the same tactics everywhere. However, the British Commonwealth began to lose its grip 'because' they used the same domineering tactics everywhere. 

The female of our species remained [relatively] patient until toward the end of the 1700s. By then more and more girls were learning to read and to write--then ask questions. Sadly, just questioning wasn't enough and never seems to be enough to motivate those in leadership who find change annoying and inconvenient--for them...

 As for our growing populations of minorities - money - influenced holdover, stuborn thinking. Slavery was abolished in England, France and most of Europe [including Portugal that started global slave trade] 20 to 40 years prior to the U.S. Civil War. And maligning various cultures wasn't limited to well, hardly anyone. [One wonders without the meddling of royalty, parliament or congress would the vast majority of people seek to be more supportive of each other?] 

My great grandfather was born in Ireland when the ruling British were smearing the character of all Irish in general. To escape and reach America, his ship's passage was paid for him, then he worked for a farmer as an indentured servant for two years as reimbursement for his sponsor. The hours were long with no days off and the experience was so horrific he left as soon as he could to seek opportunity in the nearest city. However, he faced further discrimination with sign after sign that read; "Irish Need Not Apply" posted in every store front, warehouse and dock. The only people who welcomed him and gave him work were immigrants from China who ran laundries, market gardens and labored on the railroads.  

Oddly, one would expect that since the United States was a 'new' country social innovation would have happened here sooner and faster...But for women and minorities it's been quite the opposite, even well into the later part of the 20th Century. As for a woman's right to vote that too was almost two decades behind most countries in Europe including Russia, one of the first in 1906. Sooo, two decades into the 21st Century the reason we have organizations like; The League of Women Voters, Affirmative Action, NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People], the ERA [Equal Rights Amendment] and other programs is the same reason we still hear distinctions like, "women and minorities". Until the mid 1980s married women, couldn't have loans or credit cards in their name, single women needed a cosigner, birth control/abortion choices or maternity leave and daycare was standard in every progressive country except the U.S. 

No one should have 'more' rights than anyone else - no one, no group - but not less either. Actually, not anywhere on this planet, but especially 'here' because we absolutely do know better. 

How does this cycle stop? It stops when We-The-People no longer vote for political-relics. It stops when we vote for people who have the same ethics we expected from our grandparents. It stops when people in public office lose blank-check authority with no accountability or repercussions. [Question: what happens if we eliminate those pointless little boxes we're expected to check for male or female or white-black-hispanic-asian-other from most forms?]

Publicly supported leadership [by either taxes, dues, tickets or purchases] for: school boards, sports organizations, corporations, entertainment, print/network news, unions, political parties--means assuming and accepting responsibility.... 

All authority elected or appointed is temporary and borrowed from each voter and consumer collectively. Governance also means serving everyone even those who did not vote for you or who may not spend a lot of money at your business. And, to make arbitrary decisions that marginalize any group, culture, religion or profession for financial or political advantage creates us-versus-them labels that continue to resurface. 

Here and now, there are no "women and minorities" because in America there are no minorities. In America there are only Americans as our passport designates...

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery, suspense novelist and former journalist.

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

 

 

  

MANDATES-LAW-&-POLICING IN AMERICA

 Dear George, 

In reading our history Mr. Washington, if you thought law and order was a challenge for you - The Whiskey Rebellion was merely a noisy picnic by comparison today...

Policing in each of our united-states is a serious business - very serious. There are more than 17,000 state, municipal, county, tribal and regional law enforcement agencies - all with their own regulations.

Federally there's an additional 65 types of law enforcement agencies as well as 27 offices of inspector general/Treasury staffed by 120,000 full time personnel who are authorized to make arrests and carry a gun.  [Of those in public office who question our right-to-bear-arms, I wonder how many of those same politicians know who around them - are armed at all times?]

Okay...After the war of independence there were still Dutch, French, Spanish and British spies - but a policing standard in the 13 original colonies began far less complicated. After the turmoil of the American Revolution, the newly formed U.S. Treasury was only concerned with creating a functional currency based on an actual value of measure, because starting a new nation on the worth of say turnip crops or sheep herds was not considered a solvent basis. [Though comparing the paper money first issued by the new Continental Congress and todays techno-crypto, turnips and sheep had more value...Moving on...]

President Washington realized that going forward it wasn't prudent long term to rely on local volunteer militia to keep domestic peace. So, then enter the office of the U.S. Marshal and Deputy Marshals with the Judiciary Act of 1789 - which in the same legislation established much of our federal judicial system. AND that 'fellow-travelers' this is where the U.S. Congress should have stopped with a national policing authority. Congress gave the early Marshals a broad brush of duties including census taking. But oh no, with each passing decade peace-keeping morphed into law-enforcement with specialized badge carrying agents trained to enforce new laws for new crimes.

Further, after the Civil War when the printing of paper 'money' between the northern states and southern states was a free-for-all the Secret Service was formed as part of the Treasury Department to identify and root out counterfeit currency. Soon though, responsibilities broadened to include bank and land fraud, illegal distillers, smugglers and mail robbers. [Guess this gave the U.S. Marshals more spare time?] 

Anyway, I'm tempted to blame an immigrant Scotsman named Allan Pinkerton for giving too many possible ideas to early members of our Congress, who felt compelled to legislate the be gibers out of everything - as if the new nation might spring leaks they needed to patch.  

This private security contractor soon loomed large on America's policing horizon even before Washington got the marshals organized. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency provided Lincoln with personal security during the Civil War. And well ahead of it's time hired women and minorities from the year of it's founding in Chicago. But later the agency became more noted for providing goon-squads, guards and security during the1877 Great Railroad Strike, union steel workers, coal, iron and lumber disputes as well as the 1892 Homestead Strike and the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain. However, I note Pinkerton here - because - regardless of the 17,985 state and federal policing agencies from-sea-to-shining-sea that have evolved steadily for the last 200 years [supported by taxpayers] private "risk-management" contractors are still used. 

As the calendar flips over to 1924 sports-fans we find and John Edgar Hoover the law enforcement administrator for the Bureau of Investigations. However, as he oils his way from corridor to corridor in DC he envisions something far grander. With new limitations placed on the Secret Service, likely due to a concern that Congress themselves did not wish to be investigated - J. Edgar - who over the previous 10 years made [low] friends in high places initiated an expansion of his department. Enter 1935 and the F.B.I. [Federal Bureau of Investigations]. Expanding on new developing crime fighting technology from London and Paris, Hoover created a centralized fingerprint file system then forensic labs in key locations nationally. J. Edgar established a national blacklist with names of known spies, union agitators and suspected terrorists. [Yes, there were terrorism threats 100 years ago. Between the rise of communism after WWI and organized crime the list of names was a who's who of terror.]  However, like the controversy after the 2016 election of FBI investigative-overreach, Hoover too was found to have abused his authority to threaten political critics.

And - speaking of WWI before the C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] there was the O.S.S. [Office of Strategic Services] Does the C.I.A. investigate fellow citizens? Not according to the 1947 National Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress. Their mandate was/is foreign policy and intelligence analysis...Key word 'foreign' but there have been beige and grey areas? [See January 7, 2021 blog post: History In America] 

Immigration issues are not new, only 21st Century media reporting of our immigration issues is new.

Also in 1924 while Hoover was reorganizing the Bureau of Investigations to become the FBI, Congress created the Border Patrol initially 'not' under the Bureau of Immigration, but under the Department of Labor. This oversight was soon corrected and expanded into 35 immigration districts, [and you guessed it] further divided into sub-districts to cover 328 [official] Ports of Entry [where only legal/honest people enter]. But even more [un]impressive is additional designations like BORTAC [Border Patrol Tactical Unit] and ICE [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] who's MISSION STATEMENT is: "Protect the American people, safeguard our borders and enhance the nation's economic prosperity." ...Wow, seriously... The Border Guard/Coast Guard is charged with guarding and rescue. Have you got all that? [See January 26, 2021 blog post: Immigration In America] 

Besides a host of military investigative agencies like N.C.I.S. - skipping from the banner policing expansion decade of the 1920s to the 1970s I truly do not have enough paper and you do not have enough time to delve into the 'host' of other major monitoring agencies like ATF [Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] or EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] or FAA [Federal Aviation Administration]. So, I'm going to l-e-a-p to 2003 and to one of my all-time favorite useless-let's look like we're doing something the creation of DHS [The Department of HOMELAND SECURITY]. 

This department with an additional 240,000 federal employees had/has no hope of ever making our homeland more secure. Our homeland 'stays insecure' because it's the foreign [Iraq invasion] and domestic [defund police & open border] 'policies' of state and federally elected people in public office that keep the criminal element thriving.  

After 9/11 all Bush W./Chaney had to do, was direct Congress to remove the communication blocks between the policing agencies - we already had - so they could share information and compare notes. That need should have been evident after the U.S.S. Cole bombing, but in retrospect it appears as if the only agency that accumulated and communicated information was the international and national news media! Go figure...

Now for the grand finale - which should not come as a surprise to any of you if you're still reading at this point in my rant. Let me introduce the C.I.S. [Center for Internet Security]. 

Excuse me? If we have such an organization then why is hacking such a problem? [See January 20, 2021 blog post: Infrastructure In America] Why isn't everyone, everywhere backing up their work every 30 minutes -or- working with proprietary and classified information off-line. Good grief even "I" know that much.

True leadership accountability has/is missing and has been for decades from the dubious invasion of Iraq to Benghazi to 20 years in Afghanistan to Covid...   

Amazing...With so much policing one would expect that long before 2022, the United States would be crime free or at the very least crimes solved timely, and criminals brought to justice swiftly...Hmmm, one might 'think' that. 

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award winning mystery-suspense novelist and former journalist

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SPORTS & VALUE IN AMERICA

Dear George, 

Since you left office Mr. Washington there have been a few 'modifications' in the society you and the other Founding Fathers envisioned. One [you might find surprising] is that leisure pursuits are now recognized professional careers for which people are paid!  And, ohhh - how they're paid...

It's not that health and fitness [lifting our butts off the seat of our chairs] isn't a noble pursuit - it's that activities [games] we once played as children have evolved FAR beyond the playground...FAR, F-A-R beyond. So much so that even the high perks and salaries enjoyed by corporate CEOs are hard pressed to keep up.

And - over the last 100 years inflation has had nothing to do with the giant leap in paychecks for professional sports--it's Gate Receipts. In 1922 Babe Ruth signed a 3year contract for $52,000 per season. Six years later the Yankees' executives gave Babe a 'wee' raise to $80,000--which was a higher annual salary than President Herbert Hoover! 

There's 'money' in sports lots of it. Besides sports betting [legal or not] after the development of television - sporting events promoted by mega amounts of advertising sent 'money' blossoming like a sprawling ranch of weeds. 

As of 2022 New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is 3 years into a 9 year contract for $36,000,000 [M] per year! Again--a higher annual salary than the President. [Ahh this time 90 Xs higher] 

We have the Greeks to thank for  [besides a phonetically creative alphabet]  sports. The first Olympic games that started much of this - might be considered a mixed blessing...

In 776 BC there was no television. Well - there was no electricity yet either, but that's not my point. Without television people of ancient cultures passed what leisure time they had -often- begetting or warring... Since the Greeks were more inclined toward poetry and less inclined toward invading other places they redirected the pent-up energy of their youth with competition like foot races, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing, long jump and chariot racing.  

Those who know me - or just as accurately know 'my' athletic ability might point out that I've focused on this particular feature [at this particular time] because my abilities are limited to--curling.  Perhaps...  

I tried figure skating, but balance and falling seemed to be an issue. I tried softball but swinging and missing seemed to be an issue. I tried tennis, but the net got in my way and with racquet ball all those rebounds from all those walls seemed to be an issue. I tried golf, but somehow, I managed to defy several laws of physics to the point that a golf pro begged me not to tell people he had given me lessons. However, for some reason I am able to get a 40pound chunk of polished granite down 93 feet of ice to rest at the correct spot in a group of concentric circles--? Go figure...

That aside I question the thundering emphasis on so much money associated with [professional] sports not due to my own lackluster athletic talents - I question the bloated salaries of coaches and players from a value-to-life perspective... [Also: college tuitions shot up to support salary raises for faculty/college coaches too.]       

Entertainment has value, at least I like to think so since I write novels, but in balance how 'much' value?  How much is a book worth compared to the teacher who shares insight with young minds from that book? 

Will a Center or a Goalie be able to tutor someone who seeks to be the first in their family to enter college?  A teacher with 5 to 15 years of experience makes an annual salary of between $40,600 and $51,290. 

How much are the players in any sport worth compared to a nurse who can adjust a patient's oxygen levels?

Will a Quarterback or a Shortstop be able to monitor the vital signs of someone on life support in ICU? A registered nurse with 5 to 10 years of experience makes an annual salary of between $49,600 and $56,800. 

Our Constitution requires the President to take a salary regardless of personal wealth to avoid being tempted to take bribes. But how are we comparing the millions of dollars in value of a Lineman or Left Fielder to a President or a Senator or a Representative to Congress or the Governor of a State? 

Our security is just one Border Patrol Agent/Officer away from an illegal immigrant who already has a criminal record -or- one U.S. Marshal away from a belligerent passenger on an airplane. The annual salary of a Border Patrol Agent [GL-7 to GL-9] is between $49,508 - $78,269. The annual salary of a U.S. Marshal [GL-7 to GL-9] is between $46,471 - $61,937.   

Since we're starting a New Year and we've all experienced a great deal of uncertainty on SO MANY levels the last two years, taking a peek right now at not only what we value, but how we set value can be an opportunity...

In researching this I read: Games are a structured form of Play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun and sometimes used as an educational tool [experiencing teamwork and sportsmanship]. Games are different from Work, which is usually carried out for renumeration or from Art which is more often an expression of aesthetic, creative elements. ...Play was described as: activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than for serious or practical purpose... In the past sports celebrities have argued they required higher than average salaries because - due to the physical demands of sports they can't work for decades - well gee who do you know who makes $36,000,000 in any lifetime! Or, they could 'do' something else with their lives besides sports...Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif [who left football for medicine] nicely proved that point.  

As well - I have another suggestion for SPORTS from the Ancient Greeks. In this century, instead of tanks and guns and missiles and bombs and submarines and battleships let's compete with other nations in archery or swimming or cycling or whatever, a-n-d pay those who wish to 'play' sports enough [money] to live like most people while they finish an education in some other career that gives back...

Just a thought...

Though I can already hear several relatives and neighbors screaming at me, I'm not suggesting the elimination professional sports - only to tone down such absurd compensation...   

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery-suspense novelist and former journalist.

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"DREAM GATE...GRABBING AIR"

[Sequel] "DREAM GATE II...GRABBING TIME"

 

2021 IN AMERICA

Dear George...From your 'cloud' Mr. Washington, you and the rest of the Intelligent-Universe must be viewing 2021 policies and decisions at all leadership levels--quite mystified. [I use the term leadership loosely because we went from 2016-2020 chaos to 2021 confusion...] 

CAPITOL MOB...The events of January 6th will be cemented in our memories for decades to come and in our history for eternity. But--as distressing as events of that Wednesday was and disgraceful as the conduct of educated people were, I'm just as perplexed by why and how the storming of the U.S. Capitol unfolded at all. 

I'm puzzled because - in his capacity as Vice President, Mike Pence was to preside over a Joint Session and follow procedure as indicated in the Electoral Count Act - which seemed to me as an opportunity. In completing the Constitutional Electoral Count all facts, information and arguments - both for and against the 2020 Election results - were on the agenda for airing. 

However, as we know the time set aside for that important process was violently interrupted - but the resulting invasion of protestors was actually detrimental to Trump/Republicans and more of a benefit to Biden/Democrats... So--who and what truly lit the spark that prompted thousands of 'protestors' to race up the Capitol steps? An inquiry claims that Trump/Supports are to blame. 

*[Since Trump would have benefited 'more' from a completed and open Electoral Count debate IF the protesters were all Trump supporters they actually sabotaged that very process. Therefore, after all the dust had settled there was no time for an Electoral Count debate, only a formality vote...]

EXECUTIVE ORDERS...Joe Biden assumed office January 24th, and in his first three days proceeded to sign 30 Executive Orders undoing nearly everything Trump had done in three years. The first major impact the country felt immediately was cancelling the Key Stone Pipeline Agreement and with it - continued North American energy 'independence' from OPEC. The environmental motive against Key Stone isn't any more valid than our continued use of the 2 million miles of natural gas and liquid petroleum pipeline we already have. 

*[Pipelines are safe, efficient and since most are buried, largely unseen. Rail and trucking through rural and urban areas pose a greater environmental risk.]

IMMIGRATION...Next Biden halted all border wall construction and Covid testing of migrants. Along the U.S. Mexico border spanning 1,954 miles just 650 miles of border wall had been completed by year end 2020. But comparing northern immigration from Canada are we dealing with our southern people crush from the wrong perspective? 

Typically people tend to stay 'home', that is where we're born and raised is where we seek to remain unless living conditions become extreme like civil war, drought, governmental corruption, civil rights suppression...You get the idea. But besides 47 of the 54 countries in Africa that get foreign aide - the vast majority of people seeking safe-haven from poverty and violence in their home country of birth are from the same southern countries America sends aide to. In 2020 El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico received 22 Million dollars in aide. And since the 2010 earth quake, aide allocated to Haiti was 2.3 Billion for reconstruction and development. However, what's been reconstructed or developed? 

*[Is our  foreign aide tax-dollar paid with too few 'strings' or oversight to government officials too morally compromised to lead?]

COVID-19...After funneling between 18 and 23 Billion dollars of taxpayer funds into the development of a

vaccine what has been accomplished? Prior to any vaccines the death count from Covid19 for the last ten months of 2020 was 362,208. Since the emergency release of vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson&Johnson the death toll for the first 10 months of 2021 has been 411,571. Follow the Science is more fluid than one would expect. Follow 'what' science - when? Follow who's science - when? Then too, we have 'break-through' variants which is typical of all virus strains, but we went from Alpha to Delta then to Omikron...Why Omikron? Does that name sound scarier? Okay, so--comparing the Trump administration handling of the pandemic to the Biden administration--what do break-through issues and these numbers mean? 

*[Both administrations followed the same conflicting/contradictory 'expert' bureaucratic medical advise from overpaid, incompetent people who had no pandemic plan in place - as was their directive - either in the CDC or National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.] 

ECONOMY... The 2020 Lock-Down [called for by those same CDC and NIAD medical experts] caused an artificial halt to general productivity except in durable goods like food production and toilet paper... The Federal Reserve still keeps interest rates artificially low mainly because major corporations borrowed to expand and buy back stock so if the Fed raises rates hundreds of companies would face higher loan payments or worse. People and pensions that once could earn interest in a savings account and CDs or Treasuries and Municipal Bonds only have the Stock Market. With no interest or so little return paid for a savings account or CD we're in high risk stocks hoping that over paid CEOs avoid fraud [like Theranos] or mismanagement [like Boeing] and run their companies ethically.

Into this volatile mix Bitcoin/cyrptocurrency has wedged it's way onto a place in the stock market. Bitcoin is joined by other cryptocurrency-whannabe entities seeking mainstream investment acceptance. It's high use of electricity for mining aside - as something tangible Crypto is still illusive. It's an exciting adventure to untried investors mostly under 30 who missed the SEC definition of a Pyramid Scheme: "...participants pay to join and profit mainly from payments made by subsequent participants..." So you 'don't want to be the last one 'in'. Why the SEC isn't exposing this 'money-chasing-money' system is in question. Elizabeth Warren is one of only a few public officials objecting on record to Crypto...Why is that? 

*[Inflation which is typical after a major increase in wages, is actually pushing 11%. labelled 'transitory' [brief, fleeting, short-lived] by the Federal Reserve. Are American tax papers made of money? NO, but our elected politicians and appointed bureaucrats can certainly print IT faster than a speeding bullet--which effectively fuels inflation.]

SUPPLY CHAIN... Supply-chain issues of 2020 shifted from masks, gowns, gloves and ventilators to supplies of technology parts for vehicles, major appliances and replacement parts in general. Suddenly used cars shot up in value worth more than they were new - with a continued shortage [supposedly] of 2021 vehicle models. On any given month depending on the whim of some theatrical TV news producer there was a shortage of some kind - obviously designed to explain the inflated  prices of everything from computer chips to pumpkins. 

*[Canada, Mexico & the U.S. does not need the rest of the world it's the other way around. Our combined resources of people, climate and minerals make North America completely self-sufficient...]

ENVIRONMENT... The term Global Warming is quietly replaced by Climate Change. The U.S. returned to the Paris Climate Accord - which effectively meant the U.S. taxpayer was typically chipping in a $1.00 while every other nation chipped in less than half of that. [No wonder they missed us...] Not mentioned is the fact that several barrels of petroleum is necessary for the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels and the electric vehicle programs - 'not' self supporting - that adds to landfills and are taxpayer subsidized. Small details, right?

*[Blaming innocent milk cows and beef cattle for CO2 emissions is a low blow to farmers and ranchers who work to keep thousands of environmentalists fed - so 'they' can possibly account for the effects on our climate of numerous natural, ongoing eruptions such as the 6,000 to 9,000 tons of SO2 [Sulphur Dioxide with ash & aerosol particles] from volcanoes like La Palma in Spain...Also Kilauea & Paviot in the U.S. Copahue in Chile and the latest, Indonsesia].

FOREIGN AFFAIRS...Biden pulled all military troops from Afghanistan in August. This long over due move should have and could have been completed with bin Laden's death ten years ago - except there were far too many lucrative commitments with private contractors. In 20 years what did America and allies accomplish? Did we improve an increased standard of living that Afghan people could build upon with infrastructure and education and an expanded industry in mining or enhanced farming technology methods - instead of poppy crops? No.

*[Because the 20 year occupation of Afghanistan was for the blatant self-interest of a few - paid for by the U.S. taxpayer at the cost of our own infrastructure - we left behind yet another country in need of ongoing foreign aide for which there is little accountability.]

EDUCATION...Public School Teachers Union objected to unsafe classroom conditions though [through out 2020] private Catholic and Jewish schools along with Charter schools provided in classroom learning -and- bank tellers, grocery clerks, transit drivers, police, fire and hospital workers faced far more Covid19 issues every day for months on behalf of those public school teachers.

*[American public school education had dropped in Global ranking to 27th by 2018 [from 6th in 1993] - so where we are now is an even wider gap between the fully educated and the marginally educated...] 

INFRASTRUCTURE... As mentioned in Foreign Affairs 20 years of war [at a cost of about 45 Billion a

year] was a serious infrastructure cost that has left America weakened and vulnerable. While a connected few became extremely influential and wealthy our roads, bridges, airports, telecommunications, utilities and National Security was compromised. There's no other way to say it. We could have taken out bin Laden in the first four months after 9/11 and with simple math 20 years times 45 is 900 Billion dollars. Half that amount would have replaced and maintained all aging infrastructure from sea to shinning sea - including all deteriorating schools, provided higher budgets for more social programs like a functioning healthcare system, eliminating homelessness and addressing environmental issues, lower taxes and less debt with a balanced federal budget. Imagine that!    

*[Government Accountability Office [GAO] is an independent nonpartisan Agency that works for Congress - responsible for auditing operations to determine if funds are being spent efficiently and effectively and reporting on how well government programs and policies are meeting objectives. Obviously they're short staffed...] 

CRIME...Well--lately school shootings are back in the news - so what happened to the money that was supposed to be allocated for school security? And also large organized gangs raid entire stores of valuable merchandise. Protests aren't peaceful and haven't been since Ferguson, with paid and armed agitators mixed in with easily angered locals who indiscriminately loot and destroy their own communities and neighborhood businesses. The blacks feel victimized, the Asians feel victimized, the Muslims and Jews feel victimized, Native Americans feel victimized. Hispanics feel victimized and the whites are made to believe they are the sole source of all fault. Who and what profits from so much unrest and division with a biased hourly - daily barrage of half truths and exaggerations?

*[The Press was provided protection in the U.S. Constitution so as to expose corruption in government - but how is corruption exposed in the Press?]

THE NEW YEAR...We don't actually need to wait until January 1, 2022 to restart - each minute, each hour each day is another opportunity to restart. We restart 1st by listening to our own sense of what's right - it's easy - just do unto others. 2nd stop listening to the television 'talking-heads' - do some of your own research then object to businesses that advertise on networks that don't provide balanced news coverage. 3rd make an effort to know who your [present] elected official is and what they say compared with what they actually 'do'. 4th since Congress refuses to set themselves term limits [or age limits] we can automatically vote for an opposing candidate if someone is running beyond a third term in public office. And finally try not to think in terms of liberal or conservative--Republican or Democrat--think independent and embrace both, because our society truly needs both for balance. We need strong public education, effective public healthcare, supportive social programs in partnership with innovative free enterprise commerce to pay for everything and stay progressive.

*[Globally, we truly do not have enemies - competitors yes, but enemies no. Germany and Japan became valued allies - so why not Russia, China and Iran too. Since thousands of years of 'war' hasn't really worked that well for human progress - perhaps we should try something else...]

 

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award winning mystery-suspense novelist and former journalist...

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